Masterpiece In Progress

Cha Cha Changes

2012-01-29T15:17:00.000-08:00

Change is in the air my friends.

I feel it fluttering past my face in a stiff winter berrze.

I feel it tickle my nostrils as I breathe in the fresh air.

I feel it in the non-stop twirl in my brain.

After a lot of thought and pondering I feel that it is going to be an amazing change and I am choosing to embrace it rather than turn tail and run.

Scary but fulfilling.

More details to come later.

I like to leave my handful of readers in suspense like that ;)

Wedding Planning Bliss

2012-01-21T12:06:00.001-08:00

Hi all,

So I spent the majority of my day snuggled up on the couch in sweats, sipping coffee and wedding planning.

I mean, it was pretty much the most relaxing yet productive day.

Going through my spreadsheets, budget and critical path.

Completely in my planning bliss! I am an uber geek when it coming to organization and planning so, combine that with my long wait to find the man of my dreams to finally marry and I am radiating contentment right now!

I know some people find all the details and number crunching stressful but I’m such a detail-oriented person that this sort of thing gives me a little thrill.

See my anal retentive, crazy organized personality comes in handy from time to time!

I booked my decorator today, I met her at the wedding show last weekend and instantly got a great vibe from her. After scoping out her online portfolio I emailed her for a quote and we had a 45 minute conversation this afternoon to discuss details. She came in on budget and is so nice and helpful!

A great bonus is that she knows a flower designer and her daughter is a cake designer so I just may have the last of my big vendors booked in the next couple of weeks!

We also have nearly 35% of the wedding paid/saved for and still over 7 months to go!

I feel quite on the ball and very pleased with our progress so far. We are either on or under budget so far on everything

In other wedding related news, I was looking at the cuteness that is personalized M&M’s online this afternoon. They would mean going a little over budget for our favours but are super cute and I may splurge since we have wiggle room in our budget right now. I still want to check out a local chocolatier to see what they can do favour wise. I would like to support local business as much as possible but the serious cuteness of the M&M’s may win me over.

Well I should go and start supper! I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

So Far, So Good

2012-01-15T05:45:00.001-08:00

Well I am on day 14 of 14 days with no sugar or caffeine and I am down almost 12 pounds.

(((Doing the Wave)))

With that great accomplishment I upped my cals on My Fitness Pal from 1200 to 1450 and will try to still eat as cleanly as possible next week.

I’ve also been doing better with getting back to the gym, due to my volunteering commitments I was only able to go twice last week but I hope to go three times at least this week.

One great NSV happened in Body Pump class last week. I used heavier weights than usual for my biceps and at the point where I usually wimp out and take a break mid-track I pushed through, gave the mirror my best “yeah, I’m a tough girl and I’m going to have killer arms for my wedding” look and pumped it out!!!

With just 7.5 months to go I have no time left for excuses!

Happy 2012!

2012-01-07T07:26:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday.

I really enjoyed spending some time with my Sister and BIL and nieces. Alex and myself drove to Oromocto for a few days to spend the holidays and I even got in some Boxing Day shopping. Scored some news tops, a new pair of shoes and a couple of pairs of dress pants. Thanks to gift cards, cash and sales I came in under budget! Score!

For New Years Eve we went out with friends to The World Trade and Convention Centre. They were having a charity gala for Make A Wish. There were various bands playing, a new year’s countdown and I got to dress the man up in a shirt and tie I bought him for Christmas.

Once the hangover had run it’s course (I NEVER go out and drink and dance all night anymore) I made a scrumptious ham dinner for a few friends and then threw out all of the remaining holiday treats and put my head back on straight.

I weighed myself on January 2nd and although it was not as high as I expected (thankfully not back into the 230’s) it was setting there all smug and judgemental flashing 229 in my face.

I know, I know. I have been on this roller-coaster before. You can't sit on your butt, stuffing your face and maintain weight loss. You will gain back the weight that you had struggled to lose previously.

Anyway, to get my butt back in shape I have embarked on a two week no sugar (except 2 servings of fruit per day) and no caffeine, extremely clean, 1200 cal a day diet.

*DUCKS*

Ok, now which wise guy threw his shoe?

I know, extreme diets don’t work in the long run and aren’t sustainable. Did you read that two week rule? After that two weeks I’m not going to revert to my chips and dip for breakfast eating I was doing during the past few weeks, I will be able to have a coffee a day again and an occasional Caramel Americano (mmmmmm) but the clean eating will resume with occasional treats and much exercise.

I have approximately 5 months to get into my tip-topest shape for my first dress fitting!

Yeah, My dress came in like a month and a half ago but I have not gone to try it on because I have gained like 15 lbs since I ordered it and will not go to try it on until I am reasonably sure it will fit.

I weighed in this morning and that scale must have met up with my posse who taught it some respect because it read at 222.2!!!

Yep a 6.8 loss!

*DUCKS*

Yes I know most of it was false weight, water, salt retention from my previous crappy eating but it gives me a nice mental boost and the resolve to stick it out for another week.

I am far from perfect, I’m just trying to get by at this point. I am not endorsing eating this way forever as a magic weight loss solution.

Although I could do that and write a diet book like all the other wacko’s out there. “Buy my $50 sugar pill, eat a reduced calorie diet and workout and you will lose weight! Guaranteed!!!!”

No?

Ah well I guess I should stick to my day job.

Oh yea, I secured another contract This one is only for 3 months but I have a telephone interview next week and I’m keeping my fingers crossed!!

I am Alive - No Need to Send the Calvalry

2011-12-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Or at least to Tiffany who may be the only person still reading my sporatic little blog.

*waves frantically*

Just a little update on my life.

1. I am still looking for work, applying for jobs, hitting up my network and praying for something to come along. I am fabulous at what I do, it's just a tough job market out there right now. If something doesn't happen soon I will have to increase my number of applications out of province. I don't want to move but may have no choice :(

2. In happier news my favorite time of year a.k.a. Christmas is upon us. I don't have much decorating done yet but I predict by the end of the week I'll be all decorated and have finished the last of my shopping :)

3. We will be joining my sister, hubby and kids in Oromocto again this Christmas :) They are too cute and having kids around who still believe in Santa and the magic of the season is the best thing ever. They also have a too cute King Charles Cavalier Spaniel named Chilli and I can get my doggy fix in :)

4. Wedding planning is going well, my dress is in and once the new year starts I'll be in serious slim to the wedding mode, meaning more consistent blogging :)

5. I have been getting to the gym consistently 3-4 times a week for the past few weeks, yay! Now, just have to get my eating back under control. I'm good until about 4pm or 8pm (after the gym) and I turn into a mindless zombie snacker.

6. One of my really good friends who is also a bridesmaid moved back into the city in November, that makes me really happy and excited because she is super fun to have around :)

7. Me, my recently moved back friend and another good friend (we all lived together a couple of years ago) went our for a girls night on Saturday. It was super fun to go downtown dancing with them like we used to :)

8. I am aiming to get all Christmas cards and Save the Dates in the mail by Friday.

Well that is all for now. Hopefully more sporatic blogging will occur this month and then fresh new layout and theme on the New Year to consist with my wedding slimdown countdown!

For The Love of Soup

2011-10-27T14:21:00.001-07:00

My favourite part of fall is a return to soup weather!

In my mind there is nothing better than a steaming bowl of home made soup on a chilly day!

Plus soup is easy, cheap and oh so yummy!

Here are a couple of my faves.

Curried Sweet potato and squash

Ingredients:

- Small butternut squash cubed
- 2 sweet potatoes cubed
- 1 diced onion
- 1/2 turnip cubed
- 2-3 carrots diced
- 4 cloves garlic diced
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable stock
- 1 tbs curry
-1 tsp coriander
-1 tsp cumin
-1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a stock pot bring to a boil, and simmer on low for 1 hour or until vegetables are softened. Remove from heat and either blend in a blender and return to pot or whirl with a hand blender. Give it a stir and let simmer for an additional 30 minutes then enjoy!

So good! It also freezes well and is even better the next day for lunches!

Potato, Vegetable and Black Bean Soup

Now, this may not look very appetizing but trust me it is phenomenal!

I adapted this recipe from the potato and leek soup recipe that was floating around blog land last fall and kept throwing random things from my fridge in there.

Basically my fav combo is the following:

Ingredients:

- 3-4 medium potatoes cubed
- 1-2 stalks celery
- 6 cups water or vegetable stock
- 1 tbs salt (if using water)
- 1/2 turnip cubed
- 1 diced onion
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- 1 can black beans

Combine everything but the black beans in a stock pot. Bring to a boil and then let simmer on low for an hour. Blend with countertop or immersion blender, add black beans, stir and simmer for another 25-30 minutes, enjoy!

Now you can play with this recipe all you want, add different vegetables or take some away you can`t ruin this soup!!

Grandma Elbows

2011-10-25T05:36:00.001-07:00

Now, I get some weird reactions when I complain about my Grandma elbows. I’m always very self-conscious about my elbows and try hard to make for a flattering angle so they don’t show up in pictures.

Now some people may ask, what in the heck is a Grandma elbow???

Exhibit A: a Grandma elbow is when you gain so much weight that you have an overhang of flesh over your triceps that hang out over your elbow.

It made an appearance in my best friend’s wedding photos (along with some hefty underarm and back fat

And again in my engagement shoot

So here’s the deal. I can be all woe is me, pity me and bury my head in a pint of ice cream (which fixes everything right? *sarcasm*)

or I can get my act together, hit up the gym and stop this nonsense of emotional eating and get rid of those suckers so they don’t reappear and ruin my wedding photos in 10 months.

NO EXCUSES.

Fighting through the fog

2011-10-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Sorry for the disappearing act but I was going through a small depressive episode/case of the blues for the last month or so.

Despression runs in my family affecting all my siblings and my father, some who are currently on medication. I went through a rough period with depression about six or seven years ago and crawled out after some life changes, so I know what I'm dealing with, the warning signs and how to stay in the happy zone.

I found myself slipping away into the fog again a couple of weeks ago. I was binging, avoiding working out, becoming very emotional at the drop of a pin and avoiding certain social situations.

It didn't help that my Nan fell down in her apartment a couple of weeks ago and ended up in the hospital with a pulled groin, twisted foot and a bang on the head. (she's doing much better and should get out tomorrow and will be staying with my uncle for a few weeks) and then a few days later her brother (and last living sibling) passed away from pnemonia. He was 90 and suffered from advanced alzheimer's but was still a loss. I went to his funeral last Saturday and was able to visit my nan in the hospital at the same time (about 45 min out of the city).

So anyway, this morning I decided enough was enough and I had to be responsible for my own health and happiness and quickly put myself in the right frame of mind. I started tracking again and went to the gym for a nice workoout.

I will take things one day at a time but will be constantly picturing what I want in my life and out of my life and keep moving forward.

I AM very thankful for the people in my life right now. Especially Alex my super loving and supportive fiance. He is my rock and is always there for me. I am a very lucky girl.

10 Things You May Not Know About Me

2011-09-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

1. I love note pads, sticky notes, and basically anything that is cute to write lists on! I have an insane collection right now and am not allowed to acquire more until I use the ones I have.

2. I love lists! I am super organized and a little anal, so anything I can jot a plan or list about to organize myself makes me happy.

3. I miss having a pet. I grew up with cats and dogs and am so looking forward to buying a house in a couple of years so we can get a pet! I'd be happy with either a cat or a dog and even though I can technically have a cat in our apartment, with no out of the way spot to store a litter box it's not going to happen.

4. I love, love, love public speaking. I started competing when I was 12 and won a slew of local and regional competitions throughout junior and senior high school. I was totally screwed over when I was in grade 12 and should have went to the provincials that year and then onto nationals but due to local favoritism I came in 2nd (was my first example in it's "who you know and not what you know or how well you perform sometimes that gets you ahead in life.") I'm still not over the injustice of it and it was like 12 years ago :P

5. It really annoys me when people continuously ask me about my impending layoff. Don't you think I have myself stressed out about it enough without you giving me your 2 cents? No I don't have anything else lined up yet, if I did you'd be the first to know. Yes it worries me. I know I'll find something because I'm smart and qualified. Yes it's a tough economy right now.

6. I hate running and even though it is the in thing to do/everybody else is doing it/I'd like to participate to be social with others, I hate it and would rather do other cardio that I enjoy at the moment. Maybe I will run again some day but it won't be today.

7. I'm quite flexible and have double joints. I was a cheerleader in high school, I have no hand/eye coordination but could do a split and a bridge and was quite sturdy at the bottom corner of a pyramid (and even though I'm much less flexible than I was 12 years ago I'm quite flexible for my size). I also have double joints and can put on quite the show to people who enjoy the grotesque beauty of watching my joints move in abnormal ways.

8. I plan my life in yearly intervals and then re-evaluate where I am versus where I want to go in life (I also have a 5 year and 10 year plan right now). I can't help it, the most unsettling feeling I have is not having a plan to reach my goals. Even though some people tell me it must be exhausting living in my head (and I admit to this at times) I'm much happier when I have a solid plan in place for anything.

9. I've never travelled to the U.S and have only been out of the country once on a 3 week exchange trip to the UK when I was in Air Cadets at the age of 17. That will change (we are planning on honeymooning in Orlando and hopefully land a permanent job soon that will allow for more travelling).

10. I'm a regular blood donor and donated my bone marrow anonymously using the Canadian Blood Services One Match service. Yes it hurt, I was also crushed by the news that my recipient didn't make it, would I do it again? In a heartbeat! It was the best feeling knowing I could directly impact a life. Look into it, it's a wonderful thing! And yes, if you're wondering I am still on the list.

Observations about my week:

2011-09-16T06:10:00.000-07:00

My impending unemployment is stressing me out more than I have been thinking it has

Maxwell House coffee does NOT taste good

Doubling up the amount of grounds added to my coffee pot + cinnamon makes terrible coffee drinkable

I will NEVER buy Maxwell House again ever…even if I am in a similar coffee bind in the future

I don’t want to repeat the cycle of obesity/health problems of my parents

I love wedding planning and budgeting

I have a really good life right now

I need to focus on what I want in life and achieve it

The only thing holding me back is myself

I’m pretty awesome

I’m really going to miss my current batch of co-workers when my contract ends in three weeks

I hate construction

There is only one set of lights to safely cross to my side of the street

When my street is under construction and the sidewalk next to the only set of lights is closed it makes for a dicey run across the street to return home from the bus stop at the end of the day

I love being in love

I can now do 2 full body push-ups and 10 from my knees

I don’t think I’m eating enough which is leading to a stall in my weight loss efforts

Never judge a book by it’s cover but do judge a Wedding Decorator by the quality of their website/lack of a website

I am enjoying a return to sweater plus a light jacket weather

TGIF Everyone!

Simple Quinoa and Tofu

2011-09-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

I have the easiest, healthy recipe to share!

Ingredients:

- 1 pgk firm tofu
- 1 cup Quinoa
- 1.5 cups chicken stock
- assorted frozen (or fresh) veggies, I throw in anything I have around bell peppers, mushrooms, corn, peas, broccoli, zucchini, etc.
- Mrs. Dash
- Pepper

Pat block of tofu and cut into cubes, fry with some olive oil, season with Mrs. Dash.

Bring stock to a boil, toss in rinsed quinoa and veggies. Reduce to simmer for 25 minutes or until liquid absorbed.

I buy this awesome Organic Quinoa from Costco

Once Quinoa/veggie mixture is cooked toss in pan with sautéed Tofu and you’re done!

Easy, peasy, simple, healthy!

It also freezes wonderful and is great to grab for lunches

Vacation fun!

2011-08-31T16:53:00.001-07:00

So I took a week’s unpaid vacation to attend my best friend’s wedding in St. John’s

I drove because I needed my car for the week, but it was a looong drive! Basically about 27 hours door to door (5 hrs from Halifax to ferry, 7 hr ferry ride, 10-11 hrs from ferry to St. John’s).

The Ferry docked in North Sydney

My sister who lives in NL with my newest niece Gracie

My time in St. John’s was quite busy as you can imagine. I wanted to visit friends (managed 3 good visits), scout picture locations with my Bestie, look at wedding/bridesmaid dresses for my wedding (My best friend and I are each other’s MOH), get our nails did, run errands, bachlorette party, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, WEDDING!!!

Me and Tia

My dessert, cupcakes decorated and then formed into a shape of the male anatomy

Pin the Macho on the Man

Party bus, complete with stripper pole

Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding Day

The bridal party

How I spent most of the afternoon

One of my favourite views of Signal Hill from Fort Amherst

FH couldn’t take his eyes off me

Party Time!

I know North Sydney is out there somewhere

And we finally made it home safe and sound. It was an exhausting trip and I went over budget but it was a fabulous time and your best friend doesn't get married every day so it was totally worth it!

Next up my wedding…in just one year!

Judge Not Lest You Be Judged

2011-08-24T05:22:00.000-07:00

Come on we all do it.

Consciously or unconsciously we are constantly judging other people’s decisions and butting in where we have no business being.

This post stems from my acknowledgement of my recent Judgy McJudgerson thought of late.

From, “OMG, I can’t believe she is wearing that!” to “If you have been complaining about financial problems this may not be the best time to buy a house” and “I can’t believe she is pregnant again…wasn’t she just complaining about not being able to find a job, how can she afford another kid.”

To those faceless people and all others I have been silently judging I say an emphatic I’m Sorry!!!!

Who am I to say how another should live their life?

Just because I get anxiety thinking about how I’m going to be able to afford my own goals over the next year (Marriage, House, Baby) who am I to say that other people should think of money first?

I know for me personally I just came out of some really bleak financial years. My three years in school were brutal and the poverty I faced daunting. I never want to go back to that place where I only had $25 a week for groceries and where I had to wait to buy a $30 prescription because I didn’t have enough money to cover it.

Let me be frank here, I have no desire to be rich. I don’t want/need designer handbags or enough shoes to fill a closet. I want to be comfortable. I want to be able to pay my bills, save for retirement and have a family vacation once a year. I want to be able to splurge on a weekend away with my future husband.

I have realized that when I do bring out my gavel to render judgement on someone else’s decision it is usually based on money, in the sense of, “How can they possibly afford that? I would never put myself in that financial situation!”

I think I am watching too much Til Debt Do Us Part and other type shows…lol.

In the last couple of months every time I have automatically jumped onto the judgement express I have followed that up with, “Who are you to judge their situation?” and I have become a much more zen person as a result.

And trust me, if you know me in person, you know what an accomplishment that is!!!

So in conclusion, think before you judge others (I know I’m not the only one out there who does this!) because you never know who is secretly judging you.

Except I think that everyone is judging me because I’m paranoid and think that other people obviously have nothing else to do :P

And one final note…I reserve the right to judge anyone who walks around wearing leggings as pants because that is NEVER right!!!

;)

To-Do Lists:

2011-08-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

I love lists!

They keep me organized, are a place for me to jot down random thoughts that occur to me throughout the day and are fun to put together :)

Yes I know I'm weird :P

Anyhow my life these last two weeks has been run by lists

Meal Plans

Grocery shopping

prepping for my best friends Bachelorette party

packing

(See what I did there? lol)

So in short I love lists they keep me organized ;)

My Mom , Dad, sister and 2 month old neice came to town yesterday. Brief trip for may parents, they head back to Oromocto tomorrow to finish visiting my other sister and family and I take my sister and neice back home to their loney Husband and Father and I begin my whirlwind week of helpiing my bestie complete last minute wedding stuff, throw her bachlorette and see her get married!!!

Wheee!

When did we get so old? ;)

Will re-cap when I get back!

Also when I get back I will dive back hard core into the healthy living/weight loss thing since it will be go time for my own wedding!!!

Quinoa Mushroom Chicken Casserole with Goat Cheese

2011-07-30T09:53:00.001-07:00

Ingredients

* 4 large chicken breasts (cut in half)

* 1 pkg white button mushrooms sliced

* 1 large zucchini sliced

* 1 onion chopped

* 2 cups fresh spinach chopped

* 4 cloves garlic minced

* 1 cup quinoa (rinsed and drained)

* 1.5 cups reduced sodium chicken stock

* 1-2 tsp olive oil

* Pepper to taste

* Mrs. Dash (optional)

* 1 package goat cheese (I used compliments sensations regular goat cheese – the smaller package I believe was something like 131grams)

* Spray oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 375.

2. Heat olive oil in non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Season chicken breasts with Mrs. Dash on both sides (or season however you like your chicken to be seasoned). Add chicken and brown well on both sides (about 8-9 min per side).

3. Coat the bottom of a large casserole dish with spray oil.

4. Add Quinoa and Chicken stock to casserole dish.

5. Layer zucchini, mushrooms, spinach and garlic. Coarsely chop goat cheese and add to dish.

6. Layer browned chicken on top. Add Pepper to taste.

7. Cover with tin foil and bake for 35-45 minutes or until liquid is completely absorbed.

Makes 8 servings at approximately 300 cals per serving.

This was super easy to throw together. I turned on the oven, set the frying pan to heat, cut the chicken and then browned chicken while doing my chopping and layering. By the time everything else was ready the chicken was browned and I could just throw it on top.

Easy Peasy!

In other news my 6 and 7 year old nieces are visiting this weekend.

Can you tell?

Exercise to the Rescue!

2011-07-24T13:31:00.001-07:00

I know we all know this but exercise really is the best way to beat the blues!

So I was feeling really low and melancholy and then decided to “fake it ‘til I make it” and went to Body Pump on Thursday, followed by spin on Friday and Body Pump again yesterday.

The result? I feel absolutely fantastic again and ready to face the world.

We also attended mass this morning and it was all about old and new and how people can feel anxious about the future and change, etc, etc. Anyway, it was just what I needed to hear and felt 1000% better afterwards.

I also had a fantastic afternoon with my fiancé. Instead of tackling the rest of the cleaning I wanted to do today we “played hooky” and took off for Shubie park in Dartmouth and walked around for an hour before heading down to the waterfront for a bit of a stroll and watched a cruise ship navigate its way out of the harbour.

It was a beautiful day and loved just getting out and enjoying the city.

I plan to have a very active week and hit up the gym everyday Monday-Saturday.

We get to look after my nieces again this weekend because my eldest sister is taking off to NL for the weekend for or other nieces christening. (Her husband is in the Army and is in the States on training right now.

Next weekend is also a long one and that will be much appreciated as well!

Anyway, must go and get some supper on the go!

Living in fear of the future

2011-07-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

So if you have been reading my blog for a while or have the pleasure of knowing me personally it is not surprising that I have a type-A personality and put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect and achieve great things.

Now, while having goals and aspirations in life and working hard to obtain said goals is a perfectly healthy and normal thing to do, obsessing over how you are ever going to get there and stressing about how impossible it all seems is not healthy or normal.

For example:

I feel like I’ve been trying to get my career on track since I finished my first degree (in Business) seven years ago. To be fair three of those years were spent returning to full time studies to complete my second degree (in Public Relations) but I still feel like I am so behind in life.

As a result I almost had a panic attack yesterday when feeling the crushing pain accompanying the feeling that I am failing at life.

Pretty extreme no?

So anyway, back to my example. What has started the latest round of feeling defeated is the fact that I have the annoying tendency to plan my life in 5 year intervals. I am completely serious when I say that I have a 5-year plan and 10-year planed outlined in my head with contingences in place in case life throws a curveball (which is pointless because you really can’t plan for life’s curveballs but I digress).

So in this frame of mind I am planning for our wedding next year (this is completely normal), planning on when we want to start having kids, after all I will be nearing 32 by the time we get married (also fairly normal) and also planning purchasing our first house in two years time (also fairly normal).

This is where it gets dicey…

Going back to the career business. I am still searching for that elusive permanent position in communications in Halifax. I am on my third, four-month casual term in the last year. This means I have no benefits, vacation, sick leave or job security and that really stresses out my anal retentive side.

For whatever reason I feel that my life is in a standstill until I get a permanent job. I also feel like I’m so behind in life. So many people my age have husbands (yes, I know I am engaged), houses, kids and that permanency that I crave!!!!!

So, I am worried that I won’t find a permanent job in time to start trying for a baby in the next year and a half (yes, I know logically that a lot can happen in a year and a half but since nothing has happened in the past year it is weighing on my mind).

I am worried that I won’t find a permanent job which means we will never get a mortgage (love FH to death but he doesn’t make much money and I’m not with him for his money…lol)

So because of the underlying stress and worry of the last two items I begin to worry that I will never be permanently employed, will lag behind on starting a family and possibly have fertility issues as a result, will never own my own home or be able to save for retirement and will continue to stay in a cycle of underperformance while everyone else I know my age and younger achieve these things and more. I have a vision of myself at 35 still struggling, childless and living in a shack.

Over dramatize much?

It’s exhausting living in my head and I have battled minor depression since being a teenager (it runs in my family) so I have to consciously battle negative thoughts before they spiral out of control.

Because we all know what that cycle brings

Negative Feelings
Stress
Depression
Emotional Eating
Weight Gain
More Negative Feelings
More Emotional Eating

So I’m not sure what the point of this post is expect to purge some of these negative feelings and reach for some good positive healthy thoughts.

I am not failing at life.

I have a loving fiancé who makes me feel special and happy.

I have a car, a nice apartment and can afford healthy groceries (which was not the case just over a year ago).

I have my health, wonderful family and friends.

I also need to go for a great workout because working out always makes me feel better but binge eating always makes me feel worse (yet, it is always more seductive).

Thanks for listening!

One Day at A Time

2011-07-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

I keep planning these great blog posts with quirky humour and glossy photos and then well, I get home and colapse on the couch to watch some DVR and the news, cook supper, clean up from supper, spend some time with teh FH and then go to bed (sometimes an hour or two of my post-work day is dedicated to my volunteer job, either in meetings or doing some other work at home) and blogging becomes sometime I'll do "tomorrow".

We all know tomorrow turns into the weekend, and during the weekend I try to unplug as much as possible because I spend all week at work on my computer and checking my Blackberry for anything I need to respond to for my volunteer job. I'm the Director of Communications for a local organization of 20-40 year olds working together to make Halifax the best city for young people to live, play and stay (you can check us out at www.fusionhalifax.ca if you are so inclined :) As such I field most general inquiries from the public and the media and need to keep an eye on things during the day.

Anyhow, so yes I'm busy (as are many other people) and my super keener pretty blogging never gets done. I do have a ton of pics taken and several interesting blog posts in my head though and hope to have a coupe of hours to dedicate to them soon.

In other (non-pictorial) news my Bone Spur has been officially diagnosed and I have an appointment next week to get a cortisone shot to get rid of the pain so I can resume normal exercise :) Although a good friend of mine who is a nurse and a tri-atlhete/blogger had a similar condition and recommended a brace of sorts which I will also check out this week.

I didn't have a good week last week. I was suffering from a cold sore on my nose that got infected (yes, it's nasty and have no idea how I picked up a cold sore on my nose about 6 months ago and this is my second outbreak). So I looked like a clown with a swollen red nose and needed to make a trip to the walk-in clinic Friday after work. I got some meds and rested the whole weekend and I feel much better today. Lots of energy, swelling nearly all gone and hideous cold sore starting to mend.

But this week is a new one and I'm going to start with some small but achievable goals.

1. No Mindless Eating!

I had a couple of binges last week and I literally feel like I'm hovering over my body and watching from a distance when this happens. Not going to happen this week! At times like this I feel so ashamed and out of control and wish I could just be "normal", sigh.

2. Workouts

Body Pump x2 and cardio x2 (Hopefully more will be done but aiming for 4 hours of exercise this week)

I am not a failure, I have nothing to be ashamed of and I need to stop living in fear of the future...but that last one I will save for another post!

Adapt and Overcome!

2011-06-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

So I have been having some foot pain over the last two and a half to three weeks. I had assumed it was arch pain but it wasn’t going away so I sucked it up and went to see the doc on Tuesday after a short walk in sneakers resulted in a painful afternoon at work.

She thinks that I have a Bone Spur on my heel and sent me in for x-rays to see for sure. So I went earlier in the week to get my x-ray and have a follow-up appt in two weeks to see what the results say.

In the meantime the doctor gave me some stretches and methods to relieve the pain. To help myself heal and still remain active I have been forced to seek alternative workouts that won’t strain my heel.

Enter my very first RMP (Spin) class at Goodlife!

I was a hot sweaty mess and I loved every minute! Boy does it ever get your heart rate sky high and your thighs just a burning! Add in the fact that I am uber sore due to upping my weights at Body Pump the day before and having not worked out much the last week and yeah, it was painful. I actually felt like I was going to puke near the end…I’ll take that as a good sign!

But I did feel super happy and energetic (and HUNGRY) following class so I am definitely going to add this into my regular routine!

I think that Body Pump, RMP/Group Cycling and Yoga will give me a well-balanced workout while I see what my doc says at my appointment. Hopefully it won’t take too long to heal because I want to get back into running outside and love the burn of the elliptical.

In other news I picked up a terry cloth headband at Walmart for like $2.00 last weekend and it works great! I look like a total dork from some bad 80’s music video but it is super absorbent and keeps the stinging sweat out of my eyes and my hair from getting soaked! I sweat A LOT…I get those lovely sweat genes from my Dad and lets just say before headband I was the gross person who literally dripped sweat onto my mat during push ups and planks during class, while mopping my brow between each movement. My hair would always be completely drenched after class as well.

Anyhow, it totally works great and I’m going to buy a couple more this weekend! Not as stylish as a lulu headband but I can’t see those flimsy little bands absorbing as much as the one I have.

Which BTW was completely soaked after both Body Pump and RPM.

So happy tomorrow is Friday! No big plans for the weekend. Looking forward to hanging out in my pj’s and reading, maybe going to the gym, getting groceries and maybe cooking up some freezable lunches.

Changes Happen - Who do You want to be?

2011-06-17T05:57:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is a long internal dialogue reflecting on how I have changed over the last decade, if you don't care then stop now :P

We all change as we grow and mature into the adults we want to be.

I have experienced a lot of change myself over the last decade. Due to some messed up things during my adolescence (mostly due to bullying) I spent my early 20’s partying a lot, eating what I pleased and not taking care of myself. I was eating and drinking instead of feeling and trying to prove to the world that I was not a pathetic loser but an adult who could do whatever I pleased as long as I didn’t hurt anyone.

Well, I hurt myself.

I hurt myself physically with inactivity and poor food choices.

I hurt myself emotionally by keeping grudges and judging people for their choices.

I finished university and could only find work in an awful call centre, followed by a not so awful but low-paying contact job with the telephone company.

I got laid off, and had no idea where my life was going.

It was at this point (I was 23 turning 24) when I reconnected with an old love. I had no job, was living in my sister’s basement at this point and wanted that old spark back…you know the one where you have a goal and a plan on how to achieve it. So I went for a trip to visit him in Ontario and by the end we had decided we were meant to be together and I would move up in a couple of months. You know, destiny and all of that, we would get married and live happily ever after.

Well the day AFTER I moved there he said he had slept with two women in the two months I had been gone and couldn’t do “this.” So I was heartbroken and stuck with my car filled with everything I own in Ontario. I moved in with family I had about an hour or two away for a couple of months but I was messed and had to move home.

So I packed up my car again and drove by myself all the way to my parents home on the Northern Peninsula of NL (about a 30 hr drive and 7 hr ferry trip). Where I lived for the summer and tried to pull myself together.

I moved back to St. John’s in Sept, got another contract with the telephone company and applied to go back to school to do PR.

At this point I knew I had to make a drastic change to make my life better.

So I was accepted and the following year I packed up my car again and moved to Halifax to go back to school.

It was a hard three years. I had to work to help support myself and keep up with my classes.

I still wasn’t in a great frame of mind though…I still had a lot of personal growth going on. I still held grudges and was very sensitive to being left out of the crowd. My whole life I was always the one excluded from the in-crowd and still fought those insecurities.

My growth moment happened when I was called out for being catty and it struck me how unfair I was being to other people.

I did not have the right to judge and dictate how others lived their lives and had to seek my own fulfillment from within before I could even begin to seek it from others.

It helped that at this point I had met and fell in love with the most perfect man. Someone who love me unconditionally, didn’t care what my weight was or that I was anal retentive and a control freak. The man I am going to marry in about 15 months :D

I worked hard on myself to love myself, forgive those in my past who had hurt me and pray for forgiveness from those who I had wronged in the past.

I have also been working on recognizing negative feelings within myself and consciously choosing to let the negativity go and focus on the positives in my life.

I had the power to change myself, change the way I think about myself and other and change the way I deal with the stress of everyday life.

As a result I am so much happier than I have ever been. I love my life and believe I can appreciate my life so much more for what I have overcome.

Bullying, Sexual abuse, Attempted suicide, to name just a few of the uglier moments of my life.

I feel so free and happy and now my life is filled with Faith, Love, Friendship, Light and Joy.

Circumstances may impact our lives but only YOU have the power to shape your life into what you want it to be.

Who do YOU want to be?

MIA

2011-06-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

So sorry to anyone who may still be reading my blog.

I know you have heard it before but life has been even more hectic than usual because now on top of everything else I am planning a wedding :)

So now I:
- work 40 hrs a week
- try to fit in at least 60 min of exercise 4-5 days a week
- have a 2.5 hr French class on Monday’s
- work 15-20 hrs a week with my volunteer job
- try to spend some quality time with my fiancé
- try to spend some time with my friends-AND trying to plan a wedding

Doesn’t leave much time for blogging.

Especially when I get home after working on a computer all day long and just want to turn off my brain and veg for a couple of hours before going to bed and doing it all again.

But back to the wedding because it’s more fun to talk about!

I LOVE planning, organizing and all that fun stuff.

I picked up a fun wedding planner, read a ton of magazine, and consulted all of my many newly married and soon to be married friends for advice.

I also sat down a couple of weeks ago and created a wedding budget spreadsheet to help keep us on track. I have created areas to track what is budgeted, the actual cost, down payments, money spent to date, and whether we are over or under budget in certain categories.

Some people may call it excessive but I call it a fun Sunday afternoon!

So far we have picked our date, booked our reception venue and then changed our date to better suit family members who live out in Winnipeg and Calgary.

Next on my to-do list is to book the church, the photographer and our marriage course by September and then I have plans to go dress shopping in September when my sister comes as my official fashion consultant! :)

I know the next year is going to fly so I want to just relax and enjoy the process as much as possible.

I am also finally back into my exercise groove :)

I went to the gym Mon-Fri last week, including two 7am Body Pump classes at the Goodlife located next to my work.

I’m going to try and repeat that again this week because it made me feel all energetic, happy and SKINNY last week, despite the fact that I started the week majorly retaining water to the tune of like 6-7 lbs worth.

I stepped on the scale this morning though and everything seems back to normal. I was at 211.6 this morning and hoping another solid good food + exercise week will put me back into the 2 oh’s by Saturday.

I would love to get to onderland by my best friends wedding in August. Gives me eight weeks to lose about 12 lbs or about 1.5 lbs per week which is totally doable!!

I’m on track to reach goal by xmas :)

Anyway, my break is over and I have to get back to work. I’m really going to try and fit in some blogging time throughout the week. Even if it’s only a half hour after supper.

I’m getting Married :D

2011-04-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

So as I woke up yesterday morning and started talking to my boyfriend about having to get up to start making the pies for dinner at his parents place that evening I opened my eyes to see him holding a black velvet box.

To my slight surprise (I knew he was planning to ask soon) I opened the box to view a perfect little white gold solitaire engagement ring.

After looking at it for a bit he asked me what my answer was, to which I replied he hadn’t asked me a question yet…lol.

So he asked and I accepted!

Then we got up and I made two pies and then a big Easter breakfast (toast, scrambled eggs with feta, chopped tomato and parsley), coffee and maple bacon) all before 10:30 am).

So being Easter of course I couldn’t get a hold of most of my family. My parents were home but one sister had worked last night and was sleeping, one was out to dinner, my brother wasn’t answering his phone and my best friend was working.

So as much as I wanted to take to Face Book and Twitter to share my news, I couldn’t. I did write a “bursting to tell exciting news” on twitter but had to wait until my sister woke up before we could announce on social media.

I also texted a bunch of my girl friends to tell them the news but asked to keep mum on FB until we made it “official”.

I’m so excited!

We are planning for September 2012 and I am excited to start planning colours and flowers and all that girly stuff!!!

Nothing worth doing comes easy…or something like that!

2011-04-24T10:01:00.001-07:00

So I am struggling.

I haven’t been tracking the past week and a half, didn’t make it to the gym last week at all and have been avoiding making “eye contact” with the scale in the bathroom.

I do recognize my avoidance behaviour and know from experience that by avoiding taking responsibility for my calorie intake and exercise won’t make the weight go away…in fact it will do just the opposite!

So a big thank you to Angie for leaving this message on My Fitness Pal account yesterday.

So in other news I have switched to My Fitness Pal from Weight Watchers online because it’s free, fun to use and seems as effective (once I get my arse back in gear) so why pay $21 a month?

I will be back working out and tracking tomorrow? I know the “I’ll start on Monday” mantra is garbage but I am my own person and that’s what I decided to do for my own reasons. We are celebrating today (more to follow in my next post) and I don’t feel like counting for that reason.

I made a home made apple and pumpkin pie for supper tonight at Alex’s parents house, I can’t wait to dig in because they look and smell amazing!!!!

Hope everyone is having a good Easter!

Struggling with balance

2011-04-16T09:55:00.001-07:00

Well we all strive for balance.

I'm not winning that battle right now. I started off at full steam, dropping pounds like a pro. I felt great, in control and totally in the zone!

The past month or so it has been a different story, I have been flip flopping between 213 and 215 lbs and waving between feeling victorious and feeling beaten. I went out for lunch with old coworkers yesterday at Ryan Duffy's on Bedford Row in Halifax and the service was awful! I order their ultimate burger with side salad and dressing on the side. He brought a burger and fries and although I gave half away I ate half which was an extra 200 calories that I didn't plan on and then when he finally brought my salad it was drenched in dressing and I ate a bit of it anyway.

Then me and DBF went out for a date night and I was exhausted! It had been another stressful and long week with work, school and my volunteer job weighing on me. We went to Henry House which I love but instead of getting a salad I let my stress eating emerge and ordered a tasty but calorific mushroom and steak pie with fries (which I ate about 1/3) and a pint of Apricot Pale Ale (which was fab). We then went to a show at Yuk Yuks. I bought a Groupon for it and wanted to use it. The show was pretty good but about halfway through the headliner I was falling asleep.

So the basis of my story is that after a pretty stellar week of working out and eating clean I ruined it all with one day of indulgence and was up 2 pounds this morning. Frustrating? Hell yes! Going to do me in? Not a chance!! I have a girls night tonight with some of my favourite fabulous ladies for sushi at Fugiyama followed by dancing :D

I am excited and trying to keep my eats light today and get in some exercise so I can enjoy myself tonight.

In other news I am really looking forward to my 4-day weekend for Easter because I really need a few days off. My weeks are becoming way too packed with activities and I need some R&R.

Back Again

2011-04-10T13:36:00.001-07:00

Sorry all,

I can’t believe I’ve neglected my poor blog for another month.

But alas life is quite hectic.

Between battling a stomach flu, working, volunteering and trying to have a few spare moments to myself blogging has taken a backseat.

But I will try to blog more regularly because I do miss it!

In other news I weighed in at 213 Saturday morning meaning I am down 21.4 lbs since re-committing to health and fitness on January 2nd.

I also took my measurements and I am down an impressive 13.5 inches! Which is totally showing in how my clothes are fitting again.

I am feeling inspired and now have to focus on the 10K race at the Bluenose Marathon coming up in just over a month.

My ultimate favourite class of all time at Goodlife is definitely Body Pump! I try to go 2-3 days a week and it makes me feel so powerful and energized afterwards. I’ve also dragged a friend who works in the same building as me to Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime classes and she’s addicted to the burn now too!

So much more fun to go with a friend.

In other news I made a fabulous Quinoa, tofu creation for supper yesterday. I’ll have to make it again and post the recipe with pics for you all.

As I sit here typing away I am going back blonde. I was having fun rocking the red hair all fall and winter but alas I want a maintenance free summer so back to blonde it will be.

Well I must go and rinse the dye out of my hair and create some kick-ass cover letters b/c my contract wasn’t renewed again and I need to find a new job. I’m sad but ready for the next challenge in my career. I am fabulous so I know I’ll get something

Hope everyone is doing well and Spring has arrived to everyone across the country!

P.S. Found an amazing deal at Costco for Larabars! A package of 12 assorted bars for $11.89!!!

Mind over Body

2011-03-15T13:54:00.001-07:00

I had a personal best this afternoon running on the treadmill. I have gotten into the habit of working out during my lunch break and then working an extra 30-45 min later than usual at the end of the day. It ensures I still get home before the evening news and get my sweat on! Good stuff right?

So yeah, back to my PB.

I got on and after my warm up I decided I would try and run five minute intervals, then I totally got into a song on my media player and before I knew it I was at eight minutes running and I still felt good so I decided to try and run for ten minutes. Well at ten minutes I was in my groove on to Christina Aguilera’s “Stronger” and decided to finish off the song which brought me to twelve minutes of straight running! I don’t know if I ever got past six in the past. I followed that with a one min walk, five minute run, one minute walk, four minute run and my cool down for a total of 30 min, 21 of which I was running. Blows my mind!

I know this may not seem like much to all you die hard super runners out there but this was fabulous for me and now I am totally confident I can run the 10K at the bluenose in about nine weeks time.

I followed the run up with a nice 15 minutes on the elliptical and then it was a nice stretch, quick clean up and then back to work for a rocking, totally productive afternoon!!

Now where was I?

2011-03-13T18:12:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it has been another long hiatus between posts…my bad!

But my life has gotten quite hectic and I have no idea where the time has gone.

Last weekend my sister and her family (including my cutie patotie nieces) came for a visit. We had a great time until Sunday evening when we got a call from my mom that my Grandmother had a heart-attack. So we went right to the emergency room and thankfully she seemed to be doing ok.

She is doing very good and should be out of the hospital in a couple of days. But to say the least last week was stressful and busy with trying make hospital visits and having that eat up my evening after work (she’s in Dartmouth and I don’t have a car) and keeping up with my other responsibilities.

On that note about 3 weeks ago I was made communications director of FUSION Halifax. A non-profit group of young people who work together to make Halifax a great place to live, play and stay. It’s a volunteer position but gives me a chance to prove my management skills and work with a bunch of great people to make the city I live a better place!! Check out the link, my profile is on the homepage, makes me feel all important…lol.

So being a board member is sucking up quite a bit of my time with meetings and such but so far I’m having a blast!

In the weight watchers area I weighed in on Friday morning at 215, down 19.4 pounds in total now

I joined the gym with my DBF a few weeks ago and we also signed up to run the 10K at The Bluenose Marathon in May. I’m not a runner and I’m not trying to set any records. This is going to be a fun, healthy activity to train and run with my significant other and I couldn’t be happier.

In other news I went out on Friday night to “Girls Night Out”, it was a fundraiser for the Halifax Progress Club and it was a hoot! I went with a girl from work and her roommate and we had FUN!!!! I drank A LOT! And was quite hung over the next day but this picture may sum it all up.

We all took turns doing a sexy pose on the sweet couches at Taboo.

I got home at 2:30am and was hung over most of the weekend.

But after the last hectic 6 weeks or so I took the whole weekend to do nothing. No plans, no errands, just me on the couch with a lot of DVR’ed shows to watch.

BLISS!

Quick Update

2011-02-27T14:01:00.001-08:00

Life has been hectic lately so I’ll do a quick update.

1) I’m down another 1.4 in the last two weeks

Almost 18 pounds in 8 weeks.

2) I turned 29 last week! I had a fabulous day even though I had to work and think this year is going to be the best one yet!

3) I finished my last shift at the Media Centre for the 2011 Canada Games and can’t wait to get my weekends back.

4) I had a great catch-up brunch visit with a great friend today, put a smile on my face

5) Joined the gym with DBF, got a sweet couples deal

6) Learned that personal training is MUCH pricier than I thought and that it’s out of my reach at the moment (like the lowest package available was a twice a week for three months at $1100!!) Glad there are tons of online programs to customize.

7) They are staring a Biggest Loser at work this week. I’m going to kill it!

8) I may be able to buy a car soon. Haven;t had one since spring 2008 so I’m excited to have my own wheels again.

9) I bought a blackberry…it’s fun to play with!

10) When life is hectic I don’t blog but Tweet all the time. If you want to follow me on twitter and hear my exciting tales from the bus look me up at hlaversPR.

Steady as She Goes

2011-02-12T07:31:00.001-08:00

So two weeks ago I received a warning from weight watchers that I was losing weight too fast and this week I stayed the same (which I am totally fine with) and the automated response gives me advice to change up my game “if I’m not satisfied with my weight this week.”

Well, after all my losses in a row I was expecting a low or no loss this week and I received a “stay the same” and am totally satisfied with that. I have lost an average of 2.7 lbs per week since I started, changed my habits and feel great about myself.

So go me

I have to lose order my maid of honour dress today for my best friend’s wedding this August. I am fully expecting to have to have it altered because I plan to 30 or more pounds by then. I am also starting to plan her bridal shower that I’ll be throwing in May when I fly into St. John’s for a visit and her bachelorette which will be a blast.

I’m looking forward to document the alterations when I get my dress this summer

I had a rough week. It was a hectic beginning to the work week and I had some long days on top of fighting the beginning of a cold. I actually went to bed at 7:30pm on Thursday night and slept until nearly 7am.

I’m feeling much better now, I slept in until 8am this morning and have been lying on the couch in my pj’s catching up on a weeks worth of taped shows on the DVR.

Pure Bliss!!!!!

I have my first volunteer shift at the 2011 Canada Games Media Centre from 6-10 pm this evening. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a great experience and I can’t wait.

Anyway, I’m off to make some lunch and take my measurements so I can order my dress.

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend

Inspiring You, Inspiring me

2011-02-06T16:30:00.001-08:00

Well I’m down another 1.8 pounds this week!

That makes 16.4 total pounds gone in 5 weeks!

I keep expecting a gain, or a massive slip up, binge or something to screw me up and throw me off track.

So far, so good.

I am approaching things differently this time around. I am focusing on smaller increments of time, choice-by-choice instead of day-by-day.

I have heard from so many people in my life that I am inspiring them to get healthy and lose weight. I have a few co-workers (one who also joined weight watchers), a good friend (joined too), a brother-in-law (also joined), my parents and my sisters.

I find it a little flattering and a whole lot intimidating.

I mean, what if I fail…do I just fail me or do I now have all these other people to worry about.

I don’t think I’ll fail. Everything seems really easy and natural this time around. I’m not dreaming about my “cheat day” and what I’ll indulge in that day. I’m not feeling deprived and I look forward to eating my healthy meals, am liking ordering lighter, better meals at restaurants and enjoying an occasional glass of wine or dark chocolate.

As we speak I am baking brownies. I will have one, share with my BF and his sister and plan of bringing the majority to work with me tomorrow. I just want one and don’t want to have the temptation around

Anyway, I suppose what I’ve come to realize is that knowing all these other people are working hard to change their lives makes me want to work harder and keep going on my own path.

It’s so funny how inspiring others is inspiring myself!

In other news the 2011 Canada Winter Games starts this Friday in Halifax and I am volunteering with the media centre. I will be volunteering 4 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday for the next three weeks (just Sat for the last week) and that means I’ll be busier than ever. So I really need to stay focused, get my exercise in (which I didn’t do well at last week) and keep tracking all my eats!

I may also blog less than once a week, but should be roaring back (maybe with more than once a week posts…and maybe not) by March

Hope everyone is enjoying the super bowl, I don’t really get it but the BF is watching and I am comfy on the couch…lol.

And here is the pic I promised. Me and DBF at his x-mas party last weekend…pretty in pink!

-2.2

2011-01-30T12:32:00.001-08:00

Hi all,

well after a VERY busy week at work, I had very little time to exercise and ate lunch out 3 times but was still down –2.2 lbs at my weigh in on Saturday!

This puts me at a grand total of 14.6 lbs lost in 4 weeks! This is an incredible feat for me. I have never managed to lose weight this fast, ever! I usually get distracted about 3 weeks in, stop tracking, start eating more indulgently, etc.

According to weight watchers online I am losing too fast 3.7 avg per week instead of 2 or less but in my mind I am following the plan perfectly, still having a few treats and working out.

I’m hardly pulling off Biggest Loser like numbers or anything, so I’m not going to worry about it.

With that being said I had an extra indulgent Saturday with a Chocolately Banana Blast lunch at Cora’s and 2 glasses of wine and hors d’oeurves (sp?) and such at DBF’s holiday party (where he works it’s too busy to party during the season so they do it after).

I had a great day yesterday. Me and my BF’s sister went to the Market and picked up some nice fresh local goodies. Lots of fruit and veggies and some Foxhill Italian Herb goat cheese

Then we went to Sobeys and Walmart before heading to Cora`s for lunch. Then I relaxed a bit in the afternoon before prettying myself up and wearing a new dress I bought for $23 during boxing day sales. I don`t have the pic off my camera yet but will post it later.

Today I did 4 loads of laundry, French homework and am watching Aladdin in French now too I have a ton of Disney DVD`s with French language tracks and find them a great study tool for me.

I can`t believe the weekend is over already. This upcoming week is going to be brutally busy like last week and I`m hoping it`ll pass quickly!

Stay tuned, because I`m hoping to post ina day or two my phenomenal experience when opening my new coffeemaker!

My Ah Ha Moment

2011-01-25T15:28:00.001-08:00

Well today I was in “A Mood.”

And it certainly didn’t help when I arrived at work to find that my computer was buggered and I lost all of my templates and shortcuts from my desktop, my shortcuts from my Outlook and my Browser setting re-set.

I mean I didn’t lose anything but it was quite annoying all the same.

So to return to the point of my tale, I was in “A Mood.”

You know the one, (we’ve all been there at some point or another) where you feel slightly annoyed for no apparent reason, the head is a little fuzzy, very little patience and the like. It very closely resembles PMS…and now that I’m typing this I think it is maybe a little PMS…lol.

Anyhow, whatever the reason I was in this mood all morning and then around 10:30am or so I thought, “Man, I really need a good workout to shake me out of this mood!”

Since I first had that thought the desire for a heart-pounding, sweaty workout has been permeating throughout my whole body. Enough that I braved our current -20ish temperature to go for a power walk at lunch.

My Ah Ha Moment came at approximately 11:45ish as I was prepping my black bean and sweet potato wrap with mustard and spring mix leafy greens for lunch. I had made up my mind to eat up and then hit the road for a nice power walk to stimulate my brain cells to power though the afternoon and get home for a great Shred + Yoga workout when it hit me…all day my first instinct to alleviate my bad mood has been to work out.

Not grab a bag of chips, pint of Ben and Jerry’s or oversized chocolate treat.

But work out

And drink herbal tea

Now I am not saying that I have conquered my emotional eating demons just yet but this is a moment of victory that I am documenting, acknowledging and giving myself a mental pat on the back for.

So what I want to know is how many of you have had an Ah Ha Moment, past or present that they are proud of? Please share :D

-2.8 and roast chicken dinner!

2011-01-23T14:52:00.001-08:00

Well after another fantabulous week on weight watchers I am down another 2.8 lbs and have reached my 5% loss

To be honest the week itself was lackluster. I was fighting a head cold most of week, has a horrendously long Monday thanks to my French class and work was super duper crazy busy but through it all I tracked every day, made sure I had brought lots of healthy eats to work and made it through the week with another great loss

I stayed in during the day yesterday and did some house cleaning and relaxing

A friend of mine is in town for a few days so last night me and DBF went out to have a couple of drinks and socialize with everyone.

I spent today on my pj’s and had a ball!!!

I cooked up a very nice roast chicken dinner complete with baked sweet potato and mashed carrot and turnip.

So yummy and soooo easy to do!

Just rinse chicken in cold water and pat down. Put in roaster and smear with a bit of butter and spices (I like a bit of salt, lots of pepper and rosemary, thyme and tarragon), stuff cavity with 1/2 large onion and 4-5 cloves of garlic. Bake in a 375 F oven for 1.5-2 hrs.

Done!

Served up with 1/4 cup of gravy and a couple of tablespoons of Greek yogurt!

Now I’m going to chill for a bit, get my veggies prepped for the next week’s lunches and snuggle up with my man for the rest of the night

-3.2

2011-01-16T16:01:00.001-08:00

I really didn’t expect another big loss this week but I will certainly take it!

Yes, I was down another 3.2 pounds this week for a total loss of 9.6 lbs in two short weeks

next week I’ll be happy if I can lose another 0.4lbs and make it an even 10 lbs and get my second 5lb star

I had a very busy week and didn’t get the chance to blog. I have also had a wonderful but busy weekend!

I spent all afternoon yesterday running some errands at the Halifax Shopping Centre. I had to bring back a pair of shoes that I had ordered from Spring online that were too small and pick up a plethora of things from various stores.

For supper I made a delicious pot of vegetable and black bean soup. I threw a chopped onion, a couple of chopped carrots, a couple potatoes, a few stalks of celery and some turnip into a pot with some salt. Boiled it up for an hour, pureed it in a blender and added a can of black beans. Mmmm mmmm good!

Super easy, filling and only 2 PP+ per cup serving

Today I was also out all afternoon for my 2011 Canada Games volunteer training meeting. I am going to be working with the main media centre! It is going to be a great time and I’ll add some much needed media relations experience to my resume.I also stopped off to pick up my accreditation and uniform on the way home.

I have also registered for a French class on Monday nights. The harsh reality is that I would have a permanent secure job right now if I was bilingual and if I want to continue in the field I’m currently in then I need to be bilingual so I am going to get it one class at a time. I am in the 2nd intermediate level class so if I work hard at it I could be where I need to be in a year and a half or so.

That means tomorrow is going to suck. I’ll be at work from 8:30-4:30 and then have to hang around downtown before heading to my class from 6:30-9. The class is downtown and by bus it takes 45 min each way so I won’t be able to come home in between.

It is times like this that I wish I had a car so I could actually come home, have supper and relax a bit before class. I’m sure I’ll figure out a schedule of sorts for myself and get into a productive routine of sorts.

Anyway, I must go and relax a bit before bed. Here’s to a healthy productive week to all!

Busy, Snowy, Sunday

2011-01-09T15:48:00.001-08:00

Hi all,

I started my day with a great Shred + yoga workout, followed by a nice big breakfast (2 slices of whole grain toast with a smear of margarine, two eggs and coffee) and relaxed for a bit before starting my list of to-do’s for the day.

well today it snowed all day (and still is) in Halifax.

It was so pretty to watch from inside my warm apartment but I knew I wanted nothing to do with heading out in it!

So my wonderful DBF agreed to head out to Costco and Superstore for me to pick up a few things we needed for the upcoming week. I always try to get there weekly for a big tub of mixed salad greens, Greek yogurt and rainbow peppers because it’s the best price around for those items.

I stayed home and did 5 loads of laundry, finished cleaning and organising our guest room for DBF’s sister who is coming to stay with us for a while, cleaned out the dining room and bookshelf in the dining room that has accumulated random flyer/coupon/mail clutter, and made supper.

For lunch I whipped up my favourite quick easy meal of shrimp sautéed in an Asian wasabi oil over a bed of mixed salad greens.

For supper I made one of my newest favourite slow cooker meals Weight Watchers Moroccan Stew, so easy and delish!

I picked up the pre-cut packaged squash because I can afford a few luxuries these days.

I forgot to take pictures of the after but I’m getting better at it.

I also chopped up a bunch of veggies for my lunches this week too

Yeah for the upcoming week…it’s going to be a good one

-6.4!

2011-01-08T16:35:00.001-08:00

Here is a screenshot from my first official weight watchers online weigh in

-6.4 lbs!

Woo hoo :

All those 5 am workouts this week have definitely paid off!

I’m feeling great!

I followed my weigh in this morning with another Shred + Yoga workout. I’m really liking this combo, the Shred gets me all sweaty and sore and the yoga gets me all stretched and relaxed

I had no problems staying within my points all week and am looking forward to the week to come.

I’m finding that having a food plan and healthy foods around is making everything so easy for me right now.

I made a double batch of Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burgers last weekend and they freeze beautifully so have been excellent for my lunches all week. It doesn’t hurt that they are super tasty and filling too

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Vegetable Burgers

Ingredients

1 cup Beans, Black
2 medium chopped stalk celery, raw
1/2 cup Onions
1 cup steamed Sweet Potato
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1 tbsp Canola Oil
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 tbsp Flax, Ground
1/4 cup chopped almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F
Place sweet potato, and 2 tbsp water into a food processor. Blend until a smooth puree is formed.
Add all other ingredients except the almonds and flour into food processor. Process until mixture is blended.
Transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl. Add almonds and stir to mix .
Add the flour in ~1/4 cup increments, stirring well until blended.
Using a 1/4 cup measure, drop burger mixture onto a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Use a spatula to flatten out to ~1/2″ thickness.
Bake for 15 mins at 375F, flip and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Makes 6 large burgers

I also ventured out into the snow and picked up some groceries, walking there and hauling my heavy cart back home burned more calories and I had a restocked pantry! Double score!

I also spent a couple of hours organizing and had a great phone date with my bestest

I grilled salmon for supper and whipped up some quinoa and a salad to go with.

Anyway, I should go and hang out with the DBF since he just got home from work. Until next time!

Great Day 2

2011-01-03T14:23:00.001-08:00

Hi all,

Well I had a great start to my newest go at Weight Watchers and healthy living.

Yesterday I stayed within my points and went for a 30 min walk. This morning I did my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD followed by a 30 minute workout via The Path of Yoga on Eastlink OnDemand. It was a great combo workout and left me feeling fantastic. I’m going to try and keep this routine with early morning workouts before work.

Wish me luck

I have also been eating well all day. My day consisted so far of:

Breakfast:
-whole wheat English muffin with 2 tsp margarine
-one egg + 2 egg whites (combined and microwaved)
-tsp olive oil
-coffee with eggnog x2 (I am using the rest of my holiday eggnog in coffee and then it’s back to milk)

Lunch:
-salad with 5oz lean ham and 1 T dressing

Supper:
-Basic tofu stirfry

Snacks:
-apple
-green grapes
-1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup blackberries
-28g Pecans

I still have 10 remaining points, and I’m thinking a glass of 1% milk and a serving of multigrain Tostitos and salsa will hit the spot.

I have been organizing the spare room (Alex’s sister is coming next week to stay with us for a while) and the storage room most of the day and I’m still not used to taking pictures of my food throughout the day but I’m going to try and get on that to spice up my blog a bit and to actually put my new camera to good use

Well I’m off to chop up veggies for my lunched for the week. This was my last day of vacation and it’s back to the real world bright and early tomorrow morning! I’m really looking forward to getting back into the flow and pepping all the fun projects I get to tackle in the New Year

Back to the Drawing Board

2011-01-02T16:02:00.001-08:00

Well as I said in my last post I have re-gained almost all of the weight I lost last year.

The scale this morning read a daunting 234.4 lbs

Meaning I gained back all but 1.6 lbs

Boo

Hiss

Argh

And all that Jazz

I guess the insane amount of cookies, booze, not watching what I was eating etc caught up with me. The last time I weighed myself about 3 weeks ago I was in the 225 range, still not good but it sucks being back in the 230’s….again

Anyway, I’m not going to dwell on it. Today I joined Weight Watcher’s Online for the first time.

Four years ago I joined weight watcher’s meetings for the first time and found the program really worked. However, I have heard great things about the online tools and the price difference between the two options is significant enough that for me right now, online makes the most sense for me right now.

I will be updating my blog look in the next little while to reflect the new year and my newest journey to health and happiness.

I should probably clear up that it’s my continued journey to happiness because I have been ridiculously happy for the last 6 months or so. Finishing my degree, getting work I love and moving in with the man I love who treats me so well has really upped my mood level

I was going to join Nubody’s as well this week but figure I try the exercise front on my own for a month or so before committing more $$$$$$. I have spent a LOT of money in the last two months and need to rein myself back in a bit. I’m nowhere near broke but would feel better re-building my nest egg to it’s former glory

Anyway, I had a great first day back on track and will work it to the fullest degree, one day at a time

Here we go again

2011-01-02T15:49:00.001-08:00

First of all Happy 2011 everyone!

I have had a wonderful holiday filled with family, love and laughter.

Alex and I went to my sister’s house in Oromocto, NB for Christmas. We spent a week there being bombarded by little girls and a dog, it was great!

The girls love Alex because he speaks their language…Pokemon

Isn’t she the cutest?

They are growing up waaaay to fast!!!

We had a great holiday and I did A LOT of shopping and got great boxing day deals. Including a new Red Pea Coat ($100 off) and some new tops, a skirt and ordered some shoes from Spring

New Years Eve was mine and Alex’s 2 year dating anniversary, we celebrated the usual way with a hockey game, some wine and appetizers.

mmm mmm good

So now the holidays are over and I need to get back on the straight and narrow because I’ve all but gained back EVERYTHING I lost in 2010…sigh.

Ah well, can’t live in the past, just have to pick up my boots and move on.

Christmas Baking!

2010-12-19T17:55:00.001-08:00

One of my favourite holiday traditions is taking a whole day to play Christmas music and bake away!

I decided to delay my baking day until the weekend before Christmas this year in an attempt to not consume too many treats myself. We are headed to my sister’s house in NB on Wednesday, so I’m hoping most of it will be intact for the trip.

Now, the first for any marathon baking day is to begin with a clean kitchen (and a mug of coffee)

This year I started off with Gingerbread Men

I found a great recipe online last year.

I still haven’t recovered the blades for my electric mixer from my old roommate, so I used a whisk, wooden spoon and my hands to do the job!

To try and healthify this recipe a bit I subbed a cup of white flour for whole wheat and found the dough a little dry, so added a bit of water until it was nice and pliable.

Divide in half and let sit at room temperature for 2-8 hours

Turn onto lightly floured surface

Roll into about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into desired shape

They plump up nicely (and smell amazing) once baked

Decorate at will

Now, to backtrack time-wise. While I was waiting for the gingerbread dough to dit

I made Fudge

Super simple and yummy recipe from my sister. Melt down in a double boiler: 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup of milk chocolate chips, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

Pour into a greased pan and refrigerate overnight

After that was said and done I decided to put a spin on an old favourite, my much appreciated and loved chocolate chip cookies…by adding chopped candy cane pieces.

They tasted pretty good

I ran out of flour at this point so my sugar cookies, from my mom’s recipe had to me made today.

There is nothing figure friendly about these babies, a cup of butter, a cup of oil, a cup of sugar and a cup of icing sugar + 5 cups of flour are in here!

roll into little balls

press with the bottom of a sugar coated glass and top with festive sprinkles

Mmm mmm good!

I’m too lazy tonight to write the recipes for my cookies but will try to do that tomorrow.

We went to see Tron in IMAX 3D today. It was great. I think it helped that we watched the original last night because we were able to spot the inside jokes and really enjoy the special effects!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2010-12-12T14:29:00.001-08:00

Well I finally got around to taking some pictures with my new camera of my decorations

My very first adult Christmas tree

All lit up!

Pretty Angel

Decided to get artsy and found out my camera takes excellent pictures

Our balcony

start of a Christmas village

Manger scene, have to keep focus on the point of the season

There

I don’t have time for a proper post right now. Life has been busy but great. I’m going to try and do a post in a few days and spread some of the joy I have been feeling lately.

Having a great week

2010-11-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

Feeling incredibly happy and positive this week :)

So blessed to have all the good in my life right now!

I went to my first volunteer orientation session for the 2011 Canada Winter Games that will be taking place over a two week peroid in February here in Halifax. I will be volunteering with the communications/media side and it should be a great time.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is mid-week already. I plan to keep up the positive vibes and use the law of attraction to bring much more joy and happiness to my life because you can never get enough right? right!!!

Anyway must be off to bed b/c I'm an old lady and it's 9pm! ;) It may also be due to the fact that the alarm is set for a 5am run, I'll let you know how that goes.

Productive Weekend!

2010-11-28T09:29:00.001-08:00

So the last few weekends have really been a bust. I spent pretty much all of Saturday laying like a lump on the couch and then only getting a few things done on Sunday before returning to the work week.

Well I think that due to my recent return to healthy mindful eating and exercise I have soooo much more energy and thus yesterday felt like getting stuff done.

I admit that instead of jumping out of bed at 8:30am when I woke up I put on The Bounty Hunter on Demand and watched that in bed before starting my day at 11ish

However, I did manage to finish my xmas shopping, (which included picking up a few things for myself), clean the kitchen and bathroom (including sweeping and mopping) and tidied up the bedroom.

I also put a new spin on the potato and leek soup that myself and several other bloggers have been making of late. I decided that due to an unscheduled pizza run on Friday (had no power, no car and very little food that could be eaten w/o cooking) that I needed a great menu on Saturday. I had already scheduled the soup so decided to bulk it up a bit by adding chopped up carrot and celery and then after cooking and pureeing I added a can of drained and rinsed black beans and let it simmer for another 20 min or so.

Verdict? YUMMO!!!

The beans added great flavour and a boost of protein

Today, DBF and I split up the chores, we finished cleaning the apt by dusting and vacuuming and then I picked up groceries while he did laundry and went to the post office to mail the xmas parcel going to my family in NL.

Now it’s 1:30pm and besides putting on the roast for supper I have a nice relaxing afternoon to look forward to.

A couple of girl friends of mine are coming over later and we’re going to do a walk around the neighbourhood followed by brunch and baking cosmic cookies.

Oh, one of the things I finally bought for myself is a new camera. My old Minolta was purchased in 2004 and is uber bulky and takes horrible pictures. My nice sleek new Sony Cybershot is 12.1 megapixel and hot pink!

Can’t wait to start taking pictures again.

Anyway, I’m off to prep the roast for the slowcooker and then I’m going to read while DBF plays with his xbox :)

'Operation get back on horse'

2010-11-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

is what I am naming this latest attempt to get back to my healthier, more energic self!

I figure if I give it a cool nickname it'll intrigue me more and maybe keep me going...right? right!

So in that spirit this is day 2 and I have deemed it a success thus far. I didn't eat all of my snacks today because frankly I was flat out working all day and as a result didn't think about food. Unfortunantely it meant that I also forgot my mid-morning snack and was ravenous when my stomach finally got the message through to my brain that it was hungry at 12pm, ah well.

I was also quite hungry on my way home from work but stuck to my leftover chilli + whole grain bread for supper and quieted the beast of all snack cravings that had visions of real hot chocolate and buttery microwave popcorn dancing in my head with some water and a cup of cinnamon spice chai tea :D

Yummy!

I took another brisk walk at lunch time too :D

So despite starting the day with cold, wet feet it turned out to be really awesome.

Having a job that I love to go to every day and to work with an amazing team of communications professionals doesn't hurt my current level of happiness either!

Anyway, must go and chill out for a bit before bedtime. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

xoxo

Attitude is Everything!

2010-11-22T13:34:00.001-08:00

Well I had an incredibly busy week at work last week.

The kind of week where you work extra hours and it still doesn’t seem like you can get ahead of anything.

I was getting up at 5:30am and heading into work for 7am from Wednesday-Friday and did it again this morning and I also took some work home with me to do over the weekend.

The result?

Everything got done, my boss was happy this morning and I had another long but productive day and feel excellent!

Like bubbling over with positivity, what drugs is she on type of excellent.

I made the decision yesterday to stop being a whinny, woe is me, why can’t I just be naturally skinny NS attitude that I have been having of late. It wasn’t an everyday awareness of being whinny but more of a series of bad choices and showing no care or consideration over my food choices and then beating myself up after the fact.

So, yesterday I made a nice healthy lunch and snacks for today and also chopped up a bunch of fresh veggies to be used throughout the week. I made a big pot of chilli on Saturday so those leftovers will also cover my supper until Wednesday and then I’m going to make a big pot of stew or soup for the end of the week suppers.

I also went for a 45 min walk up some nice big hills in downtown Halifax in the crisp sunshine with a co-worker at noon. I have a plan to get up at the not so hellish anymore hour of 5:30am tomorrow morning to start what I hope to be a regular routine of early morning workouts.

I found it much easier to get up this morning and felt good all day, adding regular exercise into my morning routine should just help carry that feeling along.

Sending out beams of positive energy for the laws of attraction to catch and send a whole bunch of positive right back at me!!!!

Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

2010-11-14T13:50:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I've found in recent years that it was hard to get into the Christmas spirit. It was probably due to the fact that I was in school and constantly worried about finances but whatever the reason I find mysef eagerly anticipating doing all the holiday hoopla this year!

I have budgeted for some nice decorations this year (versus spending $20 at the dollar store) and am tettering back and fourth on a tree. I really want a tree but know that I can get a really sweet one for 50% off during boxing day sales.

I also have half of my shopping done thanks to the extremely tiring but very productive 20% sale at Mic Mac Mall this past Friday. I got off work just after 4pm and then took the bus right out there and shopped until 7:30pm. Thanks to my first bus being late I missed my connection and had to wait an extra 30 minutes for my bus home, which means I didn't get home until close to 9:30! I'm usually in bed by 10pm so I was beat!

But it was all good because I got some good deals and now with a trip to the Halifax Shopping Centre later this week I should be all done except for stocking stuffers for the BF :)

I had a great day today. I got 5 loads of laundry done, mailed off a b-day parcel for my neices in NB, cooked supper, watched ELF and am going to bake some cookies :D

I have my follow-up appointment with my doctor on Wednesday and should get my clearance to resume exercise! Yeah! So excited to get my sweat on. I re-gained about 10 lbs over the last few months and am itching to get it off.

I feel that it's going to be a great week at work and a great week in general! I'm going to go and prep my veggies for snacks throughout the week, hope everyone is having a great evening :)

If you want to win a great green cleaning product, check out Angie`s giveaway on her blog

A lot to be thankful for

2010-11-11T09:19:00.001-08:00

It is on a day like today that a nation unites for a day of thanks and remembrance.

The sun was shining today for the first day in a loooong time here in Halifax. It has been raining and gloomy for over a week and the sun this morning was energizing!

I was home sick yesterday due to a 24 hour gastrointestinal flu of some sort that started around 7pm Tuesday evening but woke up happy and ready to start the day this morning.

DBF and I attended the Remembrance Day celebration in our neighbourhood at the South Korea War Memorial cenotaph in Clayton Park West. It was such a glorious day that we walked up (about 2.5K) and there was a great turnout. I would guess that there was close to 1000 people there, a great mix of veterans, military, police, firemen, children, young adults, older adults and elderly.

It’s so nice to see the eclectic mix of people come out to pay their respects. There were also a large congregation of Korean immigrants and part of the ceremony was O Canada followed by the South Korean national anthem…beautiful.

The Canadian Flag was all wrapped around the pole due to strong wind and then right before the ceremony started it blew back in place and danced proudly in the wind for the rest of the ceremony, it made me so proud.

After placing my poppy on the Canadian wreath we made our way to Brewdebakers for lunch. I had NO DESIRE for a greasy lunch. Weird I know. It was probably due to my non existent appetite yesterday but I ended up with the Roasted Chicken soup and market salad. The soup was tasty (if a little on the salty side) and the salad was huge! I only ate about half but it was good too with lots of romaine, roasted red peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, some white cheddar, walnuts and a balsamic vinegar dressing of some sort.

We then walked home and I plan to spend the rest of the day in my sweats cuddled up with DBF watching movies and war documentaries.

I hope all is well with everyone else and that everyone takes a minute today to give thanks and remember why we have our freedom today.

Lest we Forget

No Sugar Thanks, I’m Sweet Enough

2010-11-02T15:46:00.001-07:00

Well today has been my first day sugar free and so far, so good.

Waaay too much Halloween candy has made it into my diet these last few weeks and I decided today would be the day I nipped that in the bud.

We all know the slippery slope of introducing regular refined sugar into one’s diet. Do before it spiralled out of control and I gained back all the weight lost this past 8 months. To be fair I haven’t been consistent in my eating or exercise since sometime in June and have re-gained 7 or 8 lbs since then but really don’t want to go through the horror of realizing none of my pants fit!

Been There

Done That

Not Interested

With that said I packed a good lunch bag for work this morning and only ate what I brought.

I also made a great supper of salad topped with shrimp that I stir-fried in Compliments Sensations Asian Wasabi Stir-Fry oil- can I just say yum?

I forgot to refill my weekly pill case on Sunday so as a result I forgot to take my vitamins yesterday. Thankfully I remember to take them after supper and filled the case then. There are A LOT of people sick at work (and in general according to FB status updates) and I don’t want to have any part of it.

In other news, I’m itching to workout again!!!. I should be cleared by my surgeon at my follow-up on Nov.17th

For the first time in 10 years I didn’t go to a Halloween party. Instead we had a low-key Halloween weekend filled with horror flicks, wine and quality time together!

We went to Saw 3D on Sunday and just thought it was Okay. It wasn’t filmed in 3D so it didn’t have any of the awesome “oh my God I’m in Jigsaw’s trap” moments I was expecting. For anyone who is intending on seeing this movie in theatres I say save the $3 and watch it in 2D.

Over the weekend we also saw The Exorcist, Freddy v.s. Jason,and Rob Zombie’s Halloween.

Fun times.

Riding that emotional wave

2010-10-26T14:09:00.001-07:00

I sit here tonight in front of my computer trying to come to terms with all of the emotions swirling inside me.

They include anger, sadness, inadequacy, insecurity, and resignation.

Most of you out there have probably already heard about Maura Kelly’s Marie Claire blog post titled: Should "Fatties" Get a Room? (Even on TV?)

The amount of comments and criticism on this article are flooding twitter (#marieclaire) and probably blog land too. It is causing girlfriends to text each other in fury and a string of 300+ comments on the blog post itself that are mostly bashing the article and the author with a few agreements thrown in.

So, where do I weigh in on the issue?

When I first read Maura’s insensitive words on the subject my jaw dropped. First I was angry at her for perpetuating the stereotype that obese people are gross. Then I became sad.

very sad.

The kind of sad that only those others who have issues with food know about. The sad that becomes shame and the sad that makes you want to fill that shameful void in your soul with food. High caloric food that will ease all the pain and maybe, just maybe fill that void for a little while.

It’s a good thing that I was at work when I read that article and had a few hours to internalize what I had read before heading out the door. It is also good that the quickest bus to my house doesn’t drop me close to a store because if I had to pass a store right now I don’t know if I could control that urge to fix the pain with junk food that is only now beginning to recede.

Having a conversation about the article via text with a friend on my way home eased it a little, coming home and seeing the pretty flowers my darling boyfriend picked up for me on Sunday helped a lot and sitting down in the quiet of my apartment as I mulled through my emotions has almost sent it out of my system.

I’m hoping that through writing this post it’ll be gone for good…this time.

What Maura (and other similar minded people) don’t understand is that obesity isn’t just about calories in and calories out. It’s the emotional pain that needs to be dealt with. I eat fairly healthy most of the time. I may have fast food three or four times a year, I don’t own a deep fryer and I eat whole grains, organic where possible and lots of vegetables.

With that, I am still 30 lbs overweight and I know for my health I need to lose it and I know that I will. But I also know I will have setbacks in my journey because even though I am getting better I am always going to struggle with emotional eating. My Mother is an emotional eater and I learned that behaviour from her and I don’t think I can break it completely without professional help that I can’t afford right now.

Anyway, enough of my issues. I guess what I really want to say to Maura and similar minded folks is to try and have a little compassion before you judge someone because of their weight. Know that the disgust and negative feelings that arise in you are probably felt more acutely by that person which is the probably the very reason they are overweight to begin with.

Oh and maybe try to have a little more class and tact the next time you address an issue that is sensitive to the public…just sayin’

Feeling Good X 2

2010-10-23T15:45:00.001-07:00

I am feeling good!

I have been feeling good all week physically AND mentally!

I know it’s not a foreign concept that one’s physical well-being often affects the mental well-being too.

I can’t wait to get my clearance from the doctor so I can start exercising again, but I will because I really don’t want to risk a relapse. I am 3 and a half weeks post surgery and my digestive issues seemed to have cleared up.

That means I can have COFFEE again

*Doing my little happy dance*

Coffee in the morning makes me so much more productive

Anyway, things are still great at work and I have developed a tight but doable budget for when I go back on EI at the end of December that incorporates my new student loan payments that start November 30th.

The minimums are more than my rent payment but not outrageous and the amortization right now is 9.5 years which isn’t terrible and I know that once I get into a better employment situation (which will be soon because I am totally feeling the positive vibes from the universe right now) I can increase them and pay it all off in 5-7 years

Tomorrow morning me and DBF will be heading to Cora’s for breakfast and then off to Bayer’s Lake to see a movie and do some shopping. I’m debating going to the store tonight for groceries when DBF gets home so that I don’t exhaust myself tomorrow before the work week begins.

The only hitch in my newfound positivity and life enjoyment is worry for my Dad. He has been having some health problems and is scheduled for a CAT scan on Monday. So any prayers from blogland would be appreciated right now. I’m trying to stay positive though and am hoping for a diagnosis and speedy recovery.

En Français s’il vous plaît?

2010-10-17T11:05:00.001-07:00

Now as a sidebar I’ll explain more about this. In doing my work terms while getting my PR degree I fell in love with federal government departments. I love that I can work on a variety of communications products, support the public and connect employees that wouldn’t interact normally in their day-to-day jobs.

Now, coming from a very rural, Newfoundland outport community (population 1200), I was lucky to have a bilingual French teacher, let alone access to French immersion. I couldn’t even apply for the bursary program the government offers for high school students to attend a 5 week summer immersion program because my parents couldn’t afford to pay for the return air fare. (This is a reason I thrived in Air Cadets, it offers free summer camp programs that instil leadership and life skills)

So anyway, despite this I took several French courses in university tying my best but without having the oral skills that you learn in an emersion atmosphere I ended up having to repeat a few 2000 level courses and ran out of time to get my minor. I did do a 5 week emersion in 2003 but after finishing my Business degree in 2004 I didn’t pursue French any more and ended up working in call centres for three years before coming back to do PR.

So here I am in 2010 and since I don’t seem to have the luck like others who secure government terms where the department will pay for French training I really need this skill to have a better chance of getting a job in federal government. Although to tell the truth I have a desire to be bilingual and am a little embarrassed to be from a bilingual country and not be bilingual.

So anyway, I was planning on starting courses with the local campus of Université Sainte-Anne but because of my stay in the hospital I missed registration, my language testing and the first week of classes.

Because I didn’t want to miss the start of my French training I decided to order the pricey but well-reviewed Rosetta Stone French learning software. Since I do have a fairly solid background from my university courses I ordered level 3 (it comes in 5 levels) and I will review it as I go though it.

Yesterday I also watched my Cinderella movie in French and watched about an hour of SRC besides spending about 3 hours with my RS.

Today I downloaded the first audio companion CD to my Sony walkman media player (to help with pronunciation-which I need as oral is my weakest area), I also found some free French podcasts to add and programmed Radio Canada and a local Acadian radio station onto my radio function of the media player. I’ll use this to listen to on the bus to and from work and while out running errands.

I am really serious about learning French and I will do this with lots of hard work and dedication.

Re-energized and ready for a new week!

2010-10-17T10:56:00.001-07:00

I did it!

I finally took a weekend and rested properly and I feel great.

I was so tired Friday evening that I couldn’t stay up past 9:30pm, my eyes were drooping at 7:30 and I managed to last two hours more which is impressive…lol. I slept a marvellous 11 hours and then decided to lie in bed and watch Shutter Island on Demand before getting up to face the day.

My day consisted of making breakfast, watching some Property Ladder, followed by the newest Star Trek movie (also On Demand), then I put together a Weight Watchers Moroccan Stew in my handy dandy slow cooker (which btw was sooo delicious and easy to make). After that was done I decided to try and activate my new Rosetta Stone French level 3 software.

I just wrote what was going to be a sidebar explaining my Rosetta Stone purchase and my reasons surrounding it but it turned into a post of it’s own so I’ll post it as such.

So the rest of my day in a nutshell: Watched Cinderella in French, spent 3 hours with my French software lessons, watched about an hour of SRC and then spent the evening curled up with DBF and watch “Get Him to the Greek”, which was quite enjoyable.

I got up around 9:30 this morning, ate and downloaded some French content into my Sony media player and watched some DVR shows while DBF slept the morning away.

After some meal planning for the week and making a grocery list I’m ready to head out with the DBF and take a little walk to get that done.

I feel great and plan to have a great start to a great week

Taking it easy: Easier said than done!

2010-10-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

Especially with a big social/meal holiday such as Thanksgiving happening.

So I baked 3 pies on Saturday night and then on Sunday morning I was beat! I dragged my ass out of bed because my friend was picking us up to cook dinner together with her and her BF and I don't keep people waiting.

Well my body was telling me it needed to rest but I told it to suck it up and keep functioning. Well let's just say that after a fun-filled afternoon and evening consisting of cooking, pumpkin carving, cards and lots of laughs (and getting home after 10:30pm) I felt like roadkill on Monday.

I spent the day on the couch in my pj's and was still feeling dead yesterday morning. Managed to make it through the day (including a trip to Dartmouth at lunch to collect my bus pass from the Metro Transit lost and found dept!!!) and was in bed before 9pm last night.

I am feeling better today but still have grainy eyes and am a yawn monster.

Thankfully it is another short week for me and I promise that despite errands I want to run I will stay home and relax this weekend!

In other news I am 2 weeks post-surgery today :D

I don't know why I expect to be completely healed after only 2 weeks but it feels like surgery was forever ago and I have been home for ages (although in retrospect I was only in the hospital for a week and that felt like an eternity!)

I have made my 6 week follow-up with my surgeon for November and here's hoping everything will be A-ok for me to resume exercise by then. I can walk right now but that's about it.

I am really craving a sweaty weights workout, followed by a run.

Anyway, just wanted to check-in, and like I have been promising everybody around me.

I promise to take it easy over the next 3 weeks so that my body can properly heal...no matter how much I want to just be healed now!

;)

Happy Thanksgiving :)

2010-10-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

I tried to post a couple of days ago but there was something wrong with Blogger. So let me try and recap what I was going to post.

My first week back at work went well. Although it was a really busy week and it tired me out quite a bit. So much that I was in bed by 9pm most nights and was still tired come 6am alarm time. I love my job however, so overall it was fantastic to be back.

Another drawback from surgery is that because of my lowered immune system I now have a few swollen lymph nodes on the left side of my neck and jaw and I think my body trying to heal everything is contributing to my fatigue.

To combat ball of this I am taking a massive amount of supplements and vitamins. Included in this regime is, Vitamen C, Multivitamin, Garlic, Zinc, Halibut liver oil and Cold FX. I am also trying to rest as much as possible and drinking lots of fluids!

Having an extra rest day tomorrow should help.

I bought myself a new laptop on Friday!

I really needed a new one and since Alex's PC is also on the fritz I decided it was time. I got an Acer Aspire, I didn't need anything fancy and although I've been hungering for a Mac I just couldn't justify the expense right now. Especially since I'm going to lose nearly half of my next two pays from my absense from work due to surgery (no sick time for casuals) but thankfully they added the time at the end and extended my term by two weeks.

I baked two pumpkin and an apple pie from scratch last night, using my nan's recipes. Alex and I are celebrating Thanksgiving today at my friend Holly's apt with her bf Mitch. There may be other friends of ours there as well but I forgot to ask...lol. It should be a great afternoon, hanging out with great friends.

I am so thankful for all of my friends and family and for my new neice or nephew. My sister in NL (the one who got married in April) found out last week that she was expecting :) I'm so excited and happy for her and my new BIL, they are both in their mid-30's and have been trying for over a year now. This is truely a blessing on them and I am praying for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby!

I hope everybody out there is safe and happy this weekend, surrounded by people they love.

I would like to send an extra shout out to all of those who have touched my lif- former classmates, all friends who I have celebrated past thanksgivings with, friends from the past who I don't speak to as often as I'd like to and those in the blogging community I haven't met in person but feel like I know by sharing your own thoughts and dreams. Thank you for everything, I have been thinking of you all this day and send you the warmest wishes for the happiest of days! xoxo

And the list goes on

2010-10-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

First of all let me start out by saying my return to work was a success. I'm still in a little bit of pain and tired but otherwise I rocked it and had a very busy day today :)

It helped that we got a last minute rush report to get done before close of business today, nothing like a tight deadline to get that blood a pumping!

Bad news?

I discovered after arriving at work what the culprit of my 2nd day of heavy painful belly bloat/rumbly tummy was...

Can you guess?

COFFEE!!! *Insert psyho music for shower scene here*

So, while thinking that any minute my belly would expand to the point that I was lifted off my feet and began to float around the room of the only thing that had been introduced to my diet in the last two days and coffee was it.

Sniff, Sniff, Sob

So, my doctor told me I could eat normally but a little bit of internet research told me differently. I knew that my Gallbladder aided in digestion by helping my liver regulate the bile that breaks down fatty and harder to digest foods and my doc did tell me my BM's could be affected as my body learns to work without the gallbladder.

Apparently, if I don't watch what I eat there is a possibility that my symptoms (highly painful upper chest to upper back stabbing sensation) could return.

So, I've decided to take a bit for each site and use my good 'ol common sense for the next 6 weeks and then ever so slowly reintroduce some food and see what happens.

My new diet (for digestive happiness) will consist of: from Buzzle: Post Gallbladder removal diet

Oil: Unprocessed, healthy vegetable oils like flax seed oil, olive oil and hemp seed oil should be consumed. These are low in cholesterol and rich in fatty acids like omega 6 and omega 3. These should not be used as cooking oils but can be consumed as salad dressings or as supplements.

Vegetables: Tomatoes, celery, carrots, beetroot, green beans, sweet potatoes, avocado, shallots, cucumber, okra, garlic and onions are all to be included in gallbladder removal diet. Vegetable juice should also be included- will probably be V8 VFushion b/c straight vegetable juice w/o vodka is nasty!.

Fruits: Lemon, grapes, apples and berries. Grape and apple juice will be very beneficial.

Dairy Products: These can be included after a month post surgery. Skimmed milk and yogurt can be added to the diet.

Poultry and Fish: Grilled chicken and skinned fish can be made a part of gallbladder removal diet.

Water should be essentially included, particularly boiled or filtered water.

What Not to EatDiet after gallbladder removal should not consist of foods such as eggs, pork, oranges, margarine, fried food, hydrogenated oils, red meat, corn, nuts, milk, coffee, tea, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, chocolates and ice creams, radish, cauliflower, cabbage, alcoholic drinks, carbonated water and beverages, oats, barley, wheat, rye, legumes, refined and canned foods.

My greatest sacrifice will be coffee b/c even though I love it so, so much...it is not worth the monster bloated belly (seriously it is still huge and tight!) anddigestive upset.

Anyway, I'm off to finish eating my salad and to try and get the energy to grill some shrimp.

I am super tired b/c I slept an entire hour last night! I was wide awake until 5am and my alarm went off at 6am...not cool brain, not cool.

Healing takes time

2010-10-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well a simple concept that is hard to learn is that healing takes time.

As a young, healthy person it is hard for me to grasp the concept that surgery (no matter how minor and routine) takes a lot out of ones body and the only thing that will help is rest and time.

In my case, my body was already worn out from the week of starvation, pain and other procedure I went through the day before my surgery and although in my brain I figure I should be over it by now...my body says otherwise.

I am feeling much better today. I am five days post-op and am so happy to be going back to work tomorrow.

All this lying around and resting is not what I'm about at all!!!

But unfortunantely I have to listen to my body and it told me on Thursday (the day after surgery) that I shouldn't have made supper. I was on my back and napping most of Friday as a result. Then on Saturday I may have decided I could cook a simple supper of rice and grilled pork loin and bake blueberry muffins...until my body protested by sapping all my energy half way through and causing me to go to bed early and stay in bed until 2pm on Sunday.

I got out of bed to meet Alex at Sobey's. He's not quite the proficient shopper just yet and I wanted to make sure we got everything we needed. I forgot to pick up my October bus pass and would have had to wait 25 minutes so I decided to chance the normally 10 min walk to the store (which took about 20 min and sapped my energy), I struggled through shopping and had Alex run across to Shoppers to get my bus pass while I paid the $2.25 to get the first bus home and promptly went back to bed for a 2 hour nap.

Alex helped me cook supper last night and after resting and sleeping in a bit this morning I am feeling pretty ok. Although it is 12:30pm now and am feeling like I should lay down for a bit.

So I guess the point of this post is that after a trauma, you need rest to make it better. When you are otherwise healthy and energetic it is hard to accept the fact that you will have less energy for a while and really need to pay attention to your body cues.

I am trying to help my body heal by eating a balanced diet, rest when I need it and ask for help. Alex has been great for me during these last few weeks and continues to take great care of me (and putting up with my anal retentive, micro-management of house cleaning that I usually do and like to have done a certain way).

I am really looking forward to being able to go for a walk in the beautiful fall weather we have been having and will be back tomorrow to let you all know how my first day back to work went :)

The Deets

2010-10-02T08:59:00.001-07:00

okay,

Well I have been recovering at home but the last two days I have been extremely tired. Apparently healing is hard work! lol

I am feeling better and moving around a lot better but man oh man, I have gotten really good at napping.

So, I gave the abbreviated version of my hospital stay but here is the rest of the story. Please feel free to skip if you aren't interested.

So I ended up in the emergency room last Thursday after attempting to go to work with agonizing upper chest through to upper back pain.

I saw the doctor, had a round of blood tests, followed by an ultrasound and then an examination by the surgery resident. Alex came down in the afternoon (after I finally texted him and told him where I was) and kept me company right up until they admitted me that evening.

That night I was hooked up to an iv and told for the first of many days I was NPO (no eating or drinking) because of a test I was on the waiting list for and given the first of many heprin injections (I was on 3 a day and each shot leaves a bruise so you can imagine the look of the back of my arms).

The next day I was woken up by my doctors when they did rounds at 7am, poked with needls and had my daily blood work, then continued to wait, starving and bored for my test that never came. Finally my friend Kim got off work and came to visit and then Alex got off work and came too (with a Marie Claire :)) Just after 5pm (this being approximately 36 hours since my Thurs morning breakfast) I asked my nurse if I would ever be allowed to eat again and he brought me a liquid lunch tray. It wasn't much but I was glad to have something in my stomach. I get REALLY cranky without food!

On Saturday morning, my doctors came on rounds with the good news that since they don't do the test I had to have done on weekends I could go home on day passes for Saturday and Sunday but had to be back that night so I could get iv fluids and blood work in the mornings. I perked up at that. The bliss of being able to sleep in my own bed, EAT, shower and all the things we take for granted at home. So I ate my hospital breakfast, got the bus home (alex was at work), took a shower and went down for a nap. About 45 min into my nap my phone rang and it was my nurse. My pancreatic enzymes were way up from the day before and I had to come back into the hospital and was NPO again until my levels came back down. I was crushed, cried a little but was able to pack a proper bag with my favorite snuggly blanket, 5 books and extra underware before heading back on the bus, to the hospital. Alex visited me when he got off work and I spent another night in the hospital.

On Sunday, my levels were down and I was allowed to eat. I had Alex bring in some dark chocolate, arthurs smoothies and Gingerale. And he also picked up a digital video player to bring me in some movies. I refused to pay $12 per day for tv! Sunday was probably the best day of them all because I was freed from my IV the whole day and was able to eat and drink whatever I wanted.

On Monday, I was once again on the wait list for my test and NPO. Monday was definetly me low day. After so many days of being hungry my patience was wearing very thin and nobody had any answers of when I'd actually get my test and surgery so I could go home. I cried a lot that day, both from hunger and frustration and found out after 3pm that I would not get my test until noon the next day and had to wait (and starve) another day. I could eat as of 3pm until midnight and another good friend Holly came to visit that night. She brought me an Elle Canada and snacks and most importantly distracted me for a couple of hours. Alex of course came back as well. Poor boy was run ragged running from home to the hospital, to work, back to the hospital and home again all week.

So Tuesday I was better prepared for NPO because I knew something was happening that day. around noon the EMT's came and took me on the short ambulance ride from the Infirmary to the VG for my test, where I had to wait in the freezing waiting room in my hosptial gown for 2 and a half hours because one of the scopes broke and they were behind. This test was called an ERCP and basically the doctor sticks a scope with a light and camera down your escophogus through all the passages to your bile ducts and gallbladder to seek out and remove rogue gall stones. My sister had come in from NB that afternoon and got there was I was waiting for my test. She is an ICU nurse and used to work at the VG so she got to see some old friends and was able to interpret all the medical speak for me :) So I went in for the test, they knock you out for it and when I was revived, I found out all my stones had passed and I was ready for surgery. After my ERCP all I was allowed to eat/drink was clear fluids and then I was NPO again the next day for surgery.

Hello Wednesday! My doctors came in and said I'd get my surgey around 12 or 1pm that afternoon and if all went good I could go home same day! I was stoked! Then at 9:30am I was told they would be coming for me in the hour, so after some frantic rexting to my sis and Alex (I wanted someone there to take my purse) I read my book and waited. It also turs out that my sister knew my surgeon quite well....just an odd side note. Anyway, they came to take me down and I had to send a quick text to give my sis instructions from mom to take my phone and where to find my purse (they missed me by 5 min) and I was wisked away.

O woke up in recovery around 12:30pm, was back in my room just before 2pm and was home by 6pm :D

I have three small incisions on the right side of my belly and one in my belly button. I am recovering well, sleeping a lot and should be back to work on Tuesday.

I am glad this is over and do not wish a bum gallbladder on anyone!!!!

The Saga

2010-09-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

well, I didn't mean to disappear for so long but to make a long story short, I went to NL on the 17th for my friend's wedding, got to spend time with my sister, with my best friend, fun time at the wedding, my friend Tiffany was absolutely stunning (she positively glowed the whole night), had some drinks, some dances and then I spent most of the next day with my bestest friend Tia and we flew back on Monday just as the rain and wind from Hurricane Igor was starting. On Wednesday night I woke up with stabbing pain in my upper chest through to my back (which I've had before) but it didn't go away. I ended up in Emerg the next morning, was admitted to hospital that night and had my gallbladder out yesterday morning. I was discharged last night and have been recovering well at home. I feel good, still quite sore but am getting around easier today. I will write a few blog posts in more detail on the experience in the next couple of days.

It's all about perspective

2010-09-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

So my posts have been all over the place lately but so has my state of mind.

I have not been putting my health first, heck I haven't even been putting myself first. It may seem like I am to the casual observer but I know that lazing around the house does not count as me time.

In fact, Lazing around the house watching tv = avoidance.

I mean, if I'm zoned out in front of the tv, absorbed in the story of the characters on-screen I don't have to think about where my own life is, where my priorities should be and why I'm not living up to my full potential.

Anyway, I'm not sure where this new perspective on my recent behaviour will take me but I do know some changes are in order. I will begin to sort all of this stuff out when I return from my trip to Newfoundland on Monday.

I know, I know, I shouldn't be putting off what can be accomplished right now but I know how difficult it'll be to try and make changes while I'm going to be away for four days.

But knowing that I have to make a change, and WILL make a change is the first step right?

Maybe not to everyone but it is from my perspective right now.

Fighting the Good Fight

2010-09-13T07:06:00.001-07:00

I am not getting sick!

This is the mantra that has been going through my head all morning. I have been feeling tired and achy all weekend. First I thought it was from not being able to get a good night's sleep last week, then I blamed on the weather turning decidedly fallish since Earl passed through and then last night I blamed it on just being lazy but this morning when I got at my desk feeling achy and grumbly it hit me.

I realized I had a touch of a sore throat in combination with my muscle aches and general whiny feeling.

Anyway, thanks to my "old lady" pill case I have my vitamens all ready for the week and a cup of my recently purchased Liption's "Green tea Superfruit" (Wild cranberry with pomegranate, that I bought a few weeks ago b/c it's filled with flavonoids), I am starting to feel human and hope to fight this sucker off before he gains a foothold on me!

As expected we only had two people show up for the party (my old roommate from last year and a friend of hers), so now I can confidently say I'm not going to plan any more parties at my place and tell people firmly when they ask, "why don't you ever have people over?" Because people won't come.

Anyhow, I wasn't overly put off because I had expected (and predicted) that this would happen.

On to happier thoughts, only 4 more sleeps until we leave for St. John's and I get to see my sister and her family and then spend Saturday day/night partying it up with friends I haven't seen in ages as I watch my good friends marry each other :D

So looking forward to it!!!!

Fighting inner demons

2010-09-08T06:28:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

Well my mood yesterday was horrible.

I was stuck in a self-loathing, worrying state and ended up having a pity party for most of the afternoon and evening.

It centred around the usual:

Not having a stable job
Feeling inadequate and insecure in my job
Having to start paying back student loans soon
Having a dismal bank account and not seeing a pay cheque for another week
Making unhealthy choices because of this state of mind which doesn't help feeling
Feeling lonely (DBF works evenings and he didn't get home until 9:30 last night)

Anyway, I'm not going top go into much detail about it but I really have to try and develop better coping mechanisms when these feeling emerge instead of trying to eat my emotions. This is just self-destructive behaviour and has to stop.

I am feeling better today. Wearing a cute skirt and top paired with coral peeptoe sandals is helping :)

Today is DBF's 29th Birthday :) Now I am offically younger until my birthday in February! :D

He is off today and will be meeting me downtown when I get off and we'll be heading over to his parents place for dinner and cake. I have to wait until I get paid to get him his present from me (Will be a future shop gift card b/c he wants to by a PS3), so I'm going to Susie's Shortbreads during lunch to get him a cupcake and pick up a card for him.

We are throwing a joint b-day/housewarming party on Saturday which is another reason I think I was blue yesterday. Historically, when I throw a party nobody comes! I either have very bad timing (everyone else has other plans already, are gone away) or throw boring parties? Either way I can't help but have a little voice in the back of my head saying that nobody is going to show up on Saturday and why do I do these things to myself.

I suppose I have outgrown the drink your face off, go downtown and spend the next day hungover phase of my life and therefore enjoy the having a couple of drinks, listen to music, talk and play games type parties, while a lot of my friends are a few years younger and still into the downtown scene. Anyway, we shall see what happens.

Post Storm Update

2010-09-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well Earl came and went off again, thankfully taking the tropical weather with him!

The temperature is much better here today, I was able to make breakfast and coffee with sweating like a mo'fo! :D

We got off fairly easily here. We didn't lose our power for extended peroids of time but it did flick off a few times for a minute or so each time so I unplugged all the electronics for the afternoon and evening to ensure that a power surge didn't fry anything!

I have a few pictures and video of the howling wind and bending trees. Once I get them downloaded I'll post them up.

I am really thankful that I moved to a different part of town though. My old neighbourhood had a downed power pole and was hit pretty hard with outages and fallen trees. I know when I lived there my building would creak and sway in high winds (quite scary) but I guess b/c I'm in the centre of this building v.s. the corner I barely felt/heard a thing! :D

Going to take it easy today and probably catch up on some much needed house cleaning (it was way too hot to clean anything properly this week).

Until later

Welcome Earl, so nice of you to come

2010-09-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

Well,

Earl has arrived in south western Nova Scotia and we are feeling his effects in the Halifax area.

According to news reports, Halifax will see the full effects of this storm between 11am and 12pm There are reports that the power is out in many parts of Halifax, Bedford and Dartmouth.
and I'm hoping we keep our power throughout the day. If we don't we are well prepared and I will curl up on the couch with a book for the rest of the day.

DBF had to go to work this morning. Thankfully he got into work before the storm hit and is working until after 7pm so it should be over by the time he comes home.

I just remembered to plug in my camera batteries to recharge, so when that finishes I'll take some pics of my bunker. We took everything off the deck in preparation and it may have been overkill but I didn't want to chance it.

Anyway, off to watch some tv while I still have it and sip my coffee :)

Hope everyone in this area is safe and sound and everyone else is enjoying their weekend :)

This pretty much sums up how I'm feeling right now

2010-09-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Source: http://www.sivacracy.net/melting.jpg

Melting just a bit more every day

2010-09-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

Well, as anybody who lives in the Maritimes or reading blogs from people who live in the Maritimes know, it is bloody hot!

I am very very gratful to work in an air conditioned building. I don't think I have ever been so eager to get into work and sad to leave as I have been this week.

Why do we have all this tropical weather?

Because of Hurricanes Danielle and Earl.

Now, Danielle decided to come close enough to drop off a ton of tropical weather and then go back out to sea like a nice hurricane.

Earl however is like that one acquaintence that you know of, who you hope won't hear about the party you are having and will end up wreaking havoc at another place.

I only moved to Nova Scotia in 2007 and although I have heard about Hurricane Juan and have seen the destruction that continues to linger in Point Pleasant Park, I have never been in an actual hurricane. I'm from Newfoundland and normally by the time hurricanes get that far east they have been degraded to tropical storms.

Anyway, I'm not overly concerned but I'm ensuring that I am adequately prepared if we happen to lose our power for a few days and can't leave our apartment for whatever reason. We also have to find room in our little apartment for the patio furniture and BBQ on the deck b/c I would hate to see that flying around our neighbourhood!!!

I will post a picture (if I remember to charge my camera batteries) of the supplies I procur tonight. I was going to go Monday and then Tuesday after work but after sitting on a sweltering bus for 45 minutes couldn't find the energy to walk the 10 minutes up the street in the 35+ heat to do that. I have purchased a Sept bus pass since I'm woring downtown and now can take unlimited bus trips during the month so will definetly be doing that today.

Last night in a desperate attempt to cool down I put damp facecloths in the freezer and once frozen wore one on my head like a hat and placed two on my neck and boy oh boy, was it ever good!!!!!

Best idea ever!

They don't take long to freeze and I had enough on the go that I could rotate as they heated up :)

Food has been eating a "whatever I don't have to actually cook" event and not overly organized or planned. I'm thinking Taco salad for supper b/c it's quick and easy, involves minimal stove time and will make leftovers.

Back to Work

2010-08-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I figured I would use my coffee break to update everyone on how my week is going so far.

I love being back to work!

I'm even getting use to waking up early :) I have been on 8-5 this week to ease back into it but will return to my regular 8-4 schedule next week. I find I'm much more productive from 8-4 and like that I get home before 5pm.

I'm on contract until the first week in December and I'm trying really hard to live in the present and appreciate working instead of focusing on the future (which I ALWAYS DO) and what I will do after this contract is over.

I find it really hard to stay in the present and really appreciate life as it's happening. I always want to plan for that one elusive day in the future when things will be better. Which of course leads to unhappiness in the present. Since I would rather be happy and content, than anxious and depressed my goal for the next few months is to stop these negative (if only this would happen) mantra as it appears and focus on all the good things I have going for me right now.

This includes:

I'm employed in the industry and field I love
I have a wonderful, loving boyfriend
Who I live with
In a beautiful apartment
In a beautiful, residential part of the city
I can still afford food luxeries like fresh fruit, berries and greek yogurt

On Sunday DBF and I went to the Select NS IncrEDIBLE Community Picnic at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. We took the bus to Spring Garden ROad , walked to the ferry terminal and enjoyed the pretty view on the way over the harbour. We ate from a few local vendors and picked up a few treats to enjoy later.

After that we went to Bayers Lake and took in Dinner for Shmucks and ate at Boston Pizza. I had a phenomenal linguini dish with scallops and shimp in a white sauce...mmmm. I ate 1/3 of my portion at the restaurant and for 2 lunches this week. Yes, the serving at BP was enough for 3 sastisfying meals!!!!!

It's crazy to think there was a time I would eat that whole thing in one meal.

I have not been making good choices this week. My breakfast and packed lunches are great but then getting home starving and being a little down from all my thinking in the future has led to MANY bad choices!

That is now over.

Anyway, I need to get back to work now that my break is over. I hope everyone is having a good week :)

Beautiful Day, Long Walk and Bulk Barn :)

2010-08-19T16:06:00.001-07:00

hi all,

Well I had a great day today.

I got lots of exercise with my man and even though my eats we not all on, they could have been worse and I really enjoyed myself.

I had a late breakfast of boiled egg, cracked wheat toast and coffee with milk. We walked from the apartment, up a big hill to the power line trail and walked to Lacewood Drive, on to Bayer’s Lake (which is so scary for pedestrians, totally not set up for foot traffic!).

I stopped at Bulk Barn for some much needed ingredients for Cosmic Cookies and Breakfast Cookies. Then went to Dollarama for a few things. After walking and browsing through EB Games with DBF we went to Mac D’s for a flurry. It was super hot out and tasted fab :)

We then walked back home (in total we trekked over 8km for sure) and I got supper together. BBQ’ed burgers, sweet potato fries and a leafy salad with an ice cold, oh so good beer!

The original plan for the day was to pack a picnic lunch and head out to Victoria Park in Truro for the afternoon with DBF’s parents but ended up getting uninvited when it turned out his father wanted to take his truck (seats 3) to pick up a ladder from their place in the country on the way back, so we altered them a bit but still got quality time + exercise into the mix :)

Anyway, it was a great day overall and I get the place to myself tonight as DBF heads out on a man date with his old roommate to see The Expendables. I see a mani, pedi + Big Brother in my future ;)

If you want to see the pics of my new place I made an open album on Facebook

Hope everyone is having a good week :D

Oh and can I just throw out had ridiculous Rogers is for their new specialty channel Sportsnet One? Thanks to this totally useless channel there are 25 Jays games that I can no longer view. This has reinforced why I do not and will never do business with this money hungry, blood-sucking company!!!!!!!!!

Back to Reality

2010-08-17T09:40:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,

If anyone is still reading that is.

I didn’t mean to take such a long blogging hiatus but I was busy with all the moving hoopla and job hunting and to be honest I didn’t feel my life was all that interesting to write about.

In a nutshell, our move went great. It took a long time due to the fact that we were moving things from my old place and DBF’s place here and then we were moving DBF’s old roommate into his new place in Dartmouth. We also were getting a few things from DBF’s parents that they had in their storage unit in Dartmouth and had a few things stored in their place in the country.

But we have been here for two and a half weeks and I finally have everything where I want it and besides buying a few more pictures and decorative items, I Am DONE :D:D:D:D:D

I was also having to organize DBF’s things b/c he is a pack rat and I hate clutter!!!!

Thankfully, he likes the fact that I’m super organized and doesn’t seem to mind my anal retentive tendencies and was all for me getting him and his stuff organized :D

The last thing to organize is his clothes but that won’t be until this weekend. To give an idea of why this is necessary, he has enough t-shirts to fill two drawers of his dresser and more.

Anyhow, I am ecstatic to finally be living with him and to not have to deal with roommates anymore :D:D:D:D:D

In other news I am returning to the same federal government job that I had in May to finish my casual contract with them. It’s only from the end of August to the first week in December but the money is fantastic and I love the people and the work I was doing last time :D This also will allow me to save another nest egg (my last one was quickly evaporated buying things for the new place) and tide me over for the fall :D Hopefully something more permanent will come up during that time or shortly afterward but I will still have a couple of months worth of EI to draw when this contract ends if it doesn’t.

My sister, BIL and nieces moved to NB a week ago today. I miss them so much and have been feeling the blues as a result. This is another reason I want a secure job-so I can afford a car and get vacation so I can visit them.

On the weight loss front, things haven’t been great but they haven’t been disastrous either. I have gained back a couple of pounds but my biggest concern is the lack of physical exercise. I will remedy that situation quite soon and think that returning to work will re-establish good habits and lead to a resumption of my weight loss.

I am less than 10 pounds from onederland and will get there this time!!!!!!!!!

That is a promise!

I will take some pictures of my new place to share soon and plan to blog a lot more often.

Much love to everyone :D

xoxo

Very Quick Update: I am Alive!

2010-07-26T18:43:00.001-07:00

I am alive...I swear

I have just been very unmotivated to blog

I mean my days all run together: get up, eat, exercise, job search/send off resumes/creep FB for mention of my classmates getting jobs, eat, clean, errands, eat, watch tv, go to bed...repeat!

I stared packing up DBF's apt today though in preparation for the move to our own apartment on Sunday!!!!

So I will be blogging again soon from the peacful zen of my own, clean, clutter free, apartment...ahhh bliss!

Anyway, off to go to bed I suppose. Hope everyone is fantastic :)

All My Dreams are Coming True

2010-06-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well I am all moved in with DBF and his roommate for stage one of the moving process.

I am so happy to be out of that old apartment and away from roommates, just one short month away from our new place that will be just ours and nobody else!!!!

Ahhhh, bliss!

I have done more spending these last few days than I think I did all last year!

Myself and DBF went shopping yesterday and I picked up some new sheets, a really pretty decorative plate and a purdy shower caddy from Homesense. We also went out and bought a new love seat and very nice LCD tv at The Brick (we have 15 months to pay interest free) in lieu of the new queen sized bedset we were going to buy because DBF's parents are lending us their queen sized bed set that they have in storage for the next year or so.

I also have things picked out at Walmart for the bathroom which I haven't picked up yet, but have budgeted for.

Today, myself and DBF's mom went to the Paderno Blowout Sale at the Halifax Forum and I made out like a bandit! I spent just over $100 and got 3 bags of awesome kitchen wares!! Including but not limited to a beautiful 20" frying pan (72% off), 5 piece ceramic mixing bowl set (50% off), a handy dandy oil mister that you add your own oil to and it mists like Pam (and bought 3 more as xmas gifts for my sisters and mother-50% off), a three piece stainless steel mixing bowl set ($10!!!), super cute red and yellow raimkens ($2.99 for pkg of 2) and two fancy glass jars with the stainless steel slot for making and storing your own salad dressing!!! ($1.99 each)

I felt like that lady in the Ikea commercial leaving the store with my bags, "Start the car!"

I also went to Eastlink in the shopping centre to cancel my service for July and have the new services connected in August, got keys cut for the apt I'm in now and got a great deal on a Dead Sea Beautifying Nail Kit that I've had my eye on for a while!

It's been a very long time since I spent so much money but everything was budgeted for and I feel great about my purchases :) It's time to emerge from the poor student cocoon I have been emerged in for the past three years. I have a high student loan debt but am proud to say I have no consumer debt (beyond the furniture we just bought) and still have a healthy savings account.

Life is great right now, I am so happy that I'm floating on air. All my dreams are finally coming true, all I need to make the picture complete is a job in my field :)

I am also going to put my nose to the healthy living grindstone again and see if I can't get another 10 pounds off before I head to NL in September for a good friend's wedding!

Wishing everybody in Canada a happy Canada Day tomorrow, may you all have a fabulous day!

xoxo
Heather

Mutant Stomach Flu

2010-06-24T14:10:00.001-07:00

Well, I have survived the worst stomach flu ever!

Or at least the worst I’ve ever had, thankfully I’ve never contracted the Norwalk virus.

Monday thru Wednesday night I have been struck with shooting pain in my upper stomach and back (at the same time), nausea and vomiting.

Not pretty, not fun…glad it’s over.

I first thought I was having a reaction to something I ate but considering it lasted for three days I’m inclined to blame a virus of some kind.

I’m eating okay today but of course my appetite isn’t quite back to where it was and I' don’t have all my energy back.

I was out this afternoon for some coffee and shopping (window for me) with DBF’s mom and sister. I had a fantastic time but now I feel like I need a nap! lol.

I love hanging out with them, they’re so much fun to be around.

I have quite a bit packed in anticipation of my move, I’m thinking now I’ll be moving out on Tuesday. DBF’s mom offered her car to me for the day, so I think I’ll take her up on that offer. I’m only moving a couple of boxes and my clothes for now and will be moving the rest of my things when we move in August.

Have I said how much I’m looking forward to moving??? lol

I already have a decorating scheme in mind for the new apartment…it’s going to be really purdy ;)

Hope everybody is having a good week!

Another curve in the road

2010-06-17T14:15:00.001-07:00

So, DBF’s roommate didn’t fill out the paperwork.

But it turns out that since DBF is the only one on his current lease and he’s been living there for more than a year, he can put in notice to switch apartments and we can move into another apartment in the same area in August.

This means I’ll have to move in with DBF and his roommate for July but it’s only a month and DBF has a large bedroom with ensuite bathroom and I can leave most of my furniture and boxes here for July.

We have an appointment to view the other potential apartment tomorrow morning at 9 :)

In other news, I went to Walmart to get my eyes checked today. This is the last month I can use my student insurance so I wanted to get that done. The cost of the appointment was $60 and I managed to find a pair of nice frames for $18 :) I just went with the basic lens because I’m getting contacts, which means that my entire cost is less than what I paid for my current frames!!!

I love saving money :)

I am also going to be using the money I’ll save on July’s rent to buy things for our new apartment :) I can’t wait to decorate and make things pretty :D

My eating today has been spot on:

B- Vegetable egg scramble (broccoli, green pepper, mushroom, 2 eggs, 1/4 c egg whites)

S- Plain yogurt and frozen blueberries

L- Salad w/sautéed shrimp

D- leftover pan fried halibut and baked sweet potato

Although I am still fighting binging urges and have to really focus on WHY I’m getting these urges and dealing with the real reason for them instead of the bandaid solution of feeding the urge into submission.

I really need a new camera

2010-06-16T16:18:00.001-07:00

I really can’t wait until I have a job and can afford a new camera. I bought mine when I finished my first degree six years ago and it really is on its last legs.

On that note I’ll play catch up for the last week.

I spent Friday-Tuesday babysitting my nieces in Sackville, while my sister and BIL travelled to NB house shopping. It was a success, they sold their current home before they left and bought a new one during their trip.

The girls were great, but I was happy to come back to my own little apartment. I managed to burn my inner wrist quite badly on Sunday evening from steam coming off the deep fryer. I wasn’t paying attention when I was taking off the cover, I guess since I don’t own one myself I didn’t think to be careful.

It’s healing nicely and I’m hoping it’ll be back to normal soon.

In other news I’ve been struggling with thoughts of junk food last night and today.

I am dealing with them and have not given in thus far. Hoping that if I resist just a little longer they will go away.

I got quite angry at DBF today. This has been the first time in our year and a half relationship that I’ve gotten mad at him, so I guess that’s not too bad right? lol

I called the rental office to find out the status on our rental application only to find out that since DBF is currently on lease with the same rental company, his roommate needs to fill out a form saying he will assume responsibility of the current lease and they were still waiting for that form.

Not only had DBF not told me of this new development, he’s had this form for several days.

Anyway, I now have his promise he’ll get his roommate to fill out the form when he gets home from work and drop it off at the office tomorrow morning.

If this form isn’t in on time we may lose this apt, which means I might have to move in to his apt for July and then get our own place in Aug, which is more moving than I really want to do.

I calmed down a few hours later and DBF is sorry and plans to make it up to me which should be interesting :)

I cooked a yummy supper today of pan-fried haddock (in evoo), baked sweet potato and steamed green beans (once I have a camera, pictures will make this blog a lot more interesting).

My eats today have been really good!

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 slices of multigrain bread and coffee

Lunch: Large salad with sautéed shrimp in evoo and garlic

Snack: 12 almonds

My supper was really tasty and satisfying which curbs my urge to head to the store for evil snacks!

Up in the air

2010-06-07T17:41:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

Well I feel like I tossed a handful of coins and that if I’m lucky, they’ll land on the target and I’ll win a prize of peace of mind.

Tomorrow DBF and myself will submit our rental applications for an amazing apartment in the beautiful Clayton Park area of Halifax. It’s got huge bedrooms, lots of storage space, has a really nice kitchen with modern appliances and the balcony backs into the woods. It’ll be so nice to be able to sit out there without having people walking down the street and heavy traffic to look at!

DBF is also interviewing with a different company next week for a job that will make him much happier and I am still hopeful that either my old boss will come through soon with a contract offer or that one of my resumes out there in the universe will result in an interview and job offer :D

I really feel on the cusp of all my hopes and dreams being realized and for the first time in a long time I’m really optimistic and hopeful for the future :)

I’m really hoping the fact that I’m unemployed doesn’t hinder our rental application. I am drawing decent EI right now and DBF is employed full-time and has been with the same employer for 3 years and I have impeccable references, so I don’t anticipate it being a huge problem.

But you never know.

I do know that I’m handing my current stress levels wonderfully and although it is affecting my sleep patterns (can’t turn off my brain) I think everything is going to work out wonderful!

I don’t have a negative though in my head right now and consequently I’m not tempted to binge on junk food.

This is how I know the stress I’m under is positive stress :)

I spent most of yesterday with DBF and his family. We viewed apartments in the late morning, and then hung out at his parents place until 10:30pm or so. We went for a walk with his dad, chatted, played dominos with his aunt and mom, watched some tv, had a great supper and I tried to help his sister with some computer questions.

He has such a great, loving family and I love being around them :) The supper was to celebrate my graduation from school and his aunt gave me some money and a card and told me to spend it frivolously on something for myself…lol. She is so sweet! I’ve decided to buy a pair of capris with it b/c I don’t have any that fit right now.

Today I had to go to school and print off something so I decided to walk and get some exercise, it’s about 4km and took about 50 min :D

This afternoon I met my friend who is subletting my room for a coffee and to get some paperwork out of the way. It was so nice to see her.

I love that I have time to be social now that I’m not in school!

Anyway, I should go. I am totally in control of my eating right now and I feel amazing!

I think I’m going to try and do the full 30 days of my 30 day Shred DVD, because I really want to tone up for the summer :)

Great Afternoon with Great Friends :)

2010-06-05T13:48:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I’m having a great day today. I woke up to sunshine on my face, had my favorite healthy breakie of vegetable scramble (sautéed veggies, scrambled with eggs), blueberries and coffee :)

I also did some cleaning and then my girlfriends Holly and Kristie came over and we walked downtown and caught the ferry to Dartmouth to my favorite little cafe Two if by Sea :)

I had a oh so decadent chocolate croissant and a beautiful cafe au lait :)

It was fun, chatting with the ladies and drinking in the great atmosphere of the cafe.

Unfortunately it started to rain, so we high-tailed it back to the ferry terminal and made great timing to use our transfers from the ferry ride over to get the ferry back and a bus back to my place.

I’m glad I did my cleaning earlier because with a belly full of pastry I’ve been quite sedentary since coming back.

I have been laying in bed watching the Jays v.s Yankees game (tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 13th right now) and intermittently reading, surfing the net on commercials.

I have pork loin thawing and I’m planning to BBQ that (thanks to a covered patio), with some baked potato and tossed salad for supper.

Tomorrow is more apartment viewings with DBF and then spending some time with his family in the afternoon/evening :)

Hopefully we’ll be able to get in a nice walk tomorrow (weather cooperating) and also hoping that the apartments we view tomorrow are nice so we can get our applications in and lease signed soon :D

Hope everyone is having a good weekend :)

P.S. Stay tuned for some progress pics coming soon :D

Brick Walls

2010-06-04T07:41:00.001-07:00

Last year in my Media Relations class, my professor showed us “The Last Lecture”, which is a video of Randy Pausch giving his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University while he was dying of pancreatic cancer.

Randy Pausch (Source)

If you haven’t seen this video I would highly recommend it. I found it very inspiring and also sad because it is tragic that such a wonderful person died so young, leaving behind his young family.

Anyway, the point I’m trying to get to is the part of the lecture that resonated with me the most. Randy speaks about life throwing brick walls in our path that we have to overcome in order to reach our goals. Randy stressed that it wasn’t the size, strength or number of brick walls in our paths that mattered, it was how we overcame them that counted.

Like most people I have seen and am currently staring at brick walls. Instead of focusing on said walls I am trying to focus on the ladder, rope, barrels, and other aids that will help me to overcome them.

Brick Walls

I finished my contract last Thursday and have been unemployed again for the past week
My BIL is an Army officer and found out last week he was being posted to Gagetown, which means in July my sister and nieces will be moving away :(
We are trying to sublet DBF’s room in his apt and are currently apt hunting to try and find a place to live in July
My current living situation is driving me bonkers (my apt is cluttered, my fridge is stuffed full of food with 4 ppl sharing it and other people don’t see crumbs on the floor a problem like I do, so I’m constantly cleaning up after everyone!)

How I’m going to overcome these walls

My old boss is trying to get me a one-year term position (but since it’s Federal Government, she can give me no guarantee’s, timelines, etc)
I’m still sending out resumes
I reactivated my EI claim
I knew my sister was an Army wife and they would move away eventually, be glad they will only be 5 hours away
DBF has posted is room on Kijiji and students will be looking for places to live soon
We looked at a few places this week and have more appointments for viewings on Sunday
My parents will co-sign if I get rejected for being unemployed right now
Keep busy, get out of the apt and exercise and you’ll be moved before you know it

In other news, I somehow forgot to weigh in these past three weeks!

OOPS!!

To be fair I spent 5 days last week at my sister's helping them paint, clean and organize as they prepped their house for sale.

But I weighed in today and to my surprise I am now 210.8!

Meaning I’m down 25.2 lbs and just one measly pound away from the 2 oh’s!!!!

And 11 pounds away from onederland!

To put that in perspective, when I did ww’ers the first time before starting school 3 years ago, it took me 8 months to get this far, I have lost 25 lbs in 4 months this time around and the best news for me is that I have re-earned my 25lb weight that is on my keychain :)

I also cleaned out my closet and have a garbage bag full of clothes that are too big for me :) I will have to buy a new pair of capris eventually because I have very few summer clothes that fit but I will have to make due with what I have for a while longer.

Anyway, I have to start blogging more regularly so I don’t write a novel every time I do. Have a fabulous weekend all!

xo
~Heather

Internalize Much??

2010-05-24T10:21:00.001-07:00

Source

Hi all,

Well it’s been a while since I last blogged but what else is new? lol

I’m not going to be one of those bloggers with thousands of followers, multiple posts a day and ads galore.

That’s cool.

I’m just me and this is my own little piece of the internet and if you enjoy my occasional posts, great and if you don’t then there are lots of others blogs out there :)

Anyhow, as you can probably tell, when I feel all good about life and such I tend to blog several times a week, am all bubbly and can’t wait to share all this awesomeness with the world!

When I’m stressed for whatever reason I retreat back into myself. This is my coping mechanism and probably the reason I ballooned up to 236 lbs, twice.

I internalize pain

I internalize conflict

I internalize stress

I internalize…well, you get the picture!

When I feel negative emotions my instinct is to lock myself in my room, lie under my bedcovers and read, watch t.v, or think, think, think.

People who know me in real life know that I plan and overanalyze everything. I am super organized and tend to spaz out a little when I feel I have little control over my future.

The source of my current stressed out state right now is a lack of secure employment in my chosen career. I am on a casual contract that ends on Thursday, am still waiting for my 1st pay (casuals get paid in arrears) and had an interview two weeks ago that didn’t pan out and (other than one interview) haven’t heard from the dozen or so resumes I’ve sent out.

There is a chance my current contract could be extended for the rest of (or part of) the summer. But my boss doesn’t know whether things will happen fast enough for me to continue working past Thursday or if I have to wait for my current contract to end and then start a new one in a week or two.

Me and DBF are also going to start looking for an apartment of our own for July and as much as I can’t wait for us to finally live together, moving and subletting his apt (mine’s already taken care of) is also stressful.

In other news, last week was Convocation :) It was great to get my parchment and see my classmates one last time :) It was also nice to see my family. But as glad as I am to have it over with, I’m also petrified that I’ll never get a permanent job (or even a one-year contract) so that I can feel settled enough to start my massive student loan pay back, set up my very first RRSP, emergency savings account and start saving for nice adult things…like quality stemware, plates, bedding, towels and furniture that didn't come 2nd hand from Kijiji.

So many other people my age have all these things, plus a house, husband, baby and dog and I think I’ve totally paid all my dues and deserve these things too.

sigh

I know that I have great things going for me and I’m grateful for them (2 university degrees, a great DBF, supportive and loving parents, siblings, gorgeous healthy nieces, and great friends to name a few) and it is focusing on those things that is keeping me from binging and getting depressed but I need to focus on my health and keep focused on my life’s goals because that is how I will achieve them.

Ok, I feel better now and for anyone who is still reading after that long winded post.

I am destined for greatness and great things are coming my way!

Life's ups and downs

2010-05-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been a little MIA in the online world lately.

I had an interview Monday and didn't hear anything back so I know I didn't get the job. This plus TOM has been playing with my emotions and I am an emotional eater, which isn't a good combination.

I haven't been horrible this week but I have not been a good, healthy, focused woman either. I would give myself a B+ for my efforts this week. I did manage to walk to and from work 3 times this week. I also walked to work on tuesday and took my 30 min afternoon walk 4 times this week.

I also ate really good from breakfast through the end of the work but it was arriving home tired, cranky and stressed that caused a few poor choices...like frozen yogurt, poutine and buttered popcorn.

Anyway, I won't beat myself up over it.

I have two weeks left on my current contract and may be extended for the rest of the summer but until I have a signed letter of offer I'm still going to feel stressed and unsettled.

If I did get extended it would take a big weight off my shoulders and it would allow me to relax and focus on my health again.

Another yin yang to this week is that I have very few clothes that fit me right now. I mean it's a great physical proof of all the weight I've lost but I am on a shoestring budget right now and can't afford to buy more clothes right now. I can survive on the wardrobe I have right now for the moment but I don't have any summer clothes that fit. Hopefully I get good news of the job front soon so I can pick a few things up.

We also have a graduation banquet next week the day before graduation and I will probably wear the dress I wore for my sister's wedding. I would like something new but it' not in the cards right now. I'm just concerned I won't stack up next to the other girls in my class who all have fabulous wardrobes, geeze what a party pooper I am today.

Ok, enough negativity!

I'm going to go do some cleaning and then head to Shoppers to redeem some of my points to get some free stuff :) I figure I can do most of my grocery shopping for this week :)

Oh and a friend is having a BBQ party this evening which should get me to relax and have fun. I love house parties b/c you can have fun without spending too much money :)

The Great Run/Walk Debate

2010-05-08T07:51:00.001-07:00

So another week has passed.

I am quite happy to be down another 1.6, this makes a total of 22.6 pounds lost in 17 weeks.

Slow and steady wins the race right? lol

I haven’t done a lot of running or weight work this week but I have done a lot of walking.

To be frank I don’t like running but I LOVE walking! I do really need to pick up the slack on the weights though because I do like weights and I know how good they are for me.

As far as running goes, the main reason I started was because it seemed that everybody else was doing it. I know right? What am I 13?

Anyway, I doubt I will ever want to enter races or run a 10K+ distance. I SO very much admire the people out there who rock these races regularly and envy them a little but that’s not me. I like to walk, hike, swim and want to buy a bike when I have a steady income again, but have accepted that I am not a runner, although I may still run from time to time.

I started my contract job on Wednesday and it’s going really well. Although I found out as a casual employee (like a student) gets paid in arrears…le sigh!

So I won’t get paid until May 26th (the day before my contract ends) and only for a week and then two weeks after that I’ll get the rest. It’s a good thing I have enough in my savings to get me through May and part of June.

3 days and I’m already impressing. But that’s normal, it always baffles me when people are impressed that I get things done. I like to be busy and why wait for tomorrow what can be done today?

I also have an interview for Monday.

YEAH :D

It’s another temporary position but it’s for a year and the salary is decent, so I’m going to be spending this afternoon doing the prep for that while I write more cover letters because until I sign a contract I can’t slack off in the job hunt.

Other people in my class have found jobs so I will too, I mean all this awesomeness can’t be unappreciated for too long right? ;)

Anyway, I’m planning on making a healthy taco salad for supper tonight and making a not so healthy but oh so yummy apple cobbler w/frozen yogurt for dessert.

Anyway, off to the rest of my day. Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

What’s this? A blog Post?

2010-05-04T15:44:00.001-07:00

Yep, try to control your enthusiasm…lol

Before I recap, here are a few wedding pics

The family (My eldest sister, mom, 2nd sister, new Bro-in-law, Dad, Brother and me)

Super cutie DBF Alex and myself

My sisters, mom and myself did a girls afternoon at the spa for pedicures the day before the wedding :)

My sisters and me

Stole this one off FB and it’s a little pixilated but this happened during the party after many glasses of wine!

So anyway,

I haven’t weighed in for two weeks and barely got any focused activity in April.

Now, I could offer up a lot of EXCUSES but no REASONS as to why this happened.

So I won’t

I did peak at the scale yesterday and was showing a loss from my last weigh in but I’ll do an official one on Saturday and let you all in on it.

In other news I went for a nice walk in Shubie Park on Sunday and a 6km walk/run yesterday. It feels good to be active again.

I also landed a 3 week contract for May (starting tomorrow) and plan on walking to and from work every day.

That should give me an hour of activity 5 days a week and I’m hoping to run a few days a week on top of that.

I’m 1/3 of the way to my goal and I want to push, push, push until I get there!!!

Quick Update

2010-04-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

Well the wedding was lots of fun :)

But it was exhausting and I managed to catch a cold :(

I didn't get much sleep the past four days and I love my sister but she and her new hubby DO NOT eat good at all!

No vegetables were to be found in her fridge, except the lettuce for the Guinea Pig of course but there was a boat load of white bread, pasta and frankenfood around.

My poor digestive system.

I am getting my body back on track today with lots of water, tea, veggies and lean protein. It's not easy though because when I'm sick I want carby comfort food.

Well tough beans body, you'll eat good and you'll like it!

Anyway, I'll upload some pics when I get a chance. I am in the middle of roommates, moving out, new roommates moving in, my apartment is a mess, I am applying for jobs and basically have a very long to do list to get done in the next few days.

Hoping to catch up on some blogs tonight and see how everyone is doing.

It all adds up in the end!

2010-04-18T09:15:00.001-07:00

One pound here, a couple of pounds there and before you know it…

I’m down 21 lbs in 14 weeks :)

Ad yet another pair of pants are soon going to be tossed because they are falling off me!

I have a pair of jeans and a couple of pair of dress pants that fit me well and I should be able to wear them through the next 15 pounds or so but then I’m going to have to buy new pants…smaller pants :D

SO EXCITED!

I haven’t been 100 percent all of the time in my eating and exercise but I have been between 90-99%, most of the time.

I know I could do better and I’m currently about 10 pounds off my x-weighted goal but honestly, I feel great, I look great and I’m at an average of 1.6 pounds lost per week, which is in the recommended range for healthy, sustainable weight loss.

I’m also doing it right, lots of healthy veggies, moderate amount of whole grains, lean meats, healthy fats, dairy and fruit.

If I want a small amount of chocolate, I’ll have it. I had a great pub crawl last weekend but haven’t had a drink since because my sister’s wedding is next weekend.

I feel in control and happy.

I’m still salivating over last night’s supper, which DBF also loved!

I grilled 2 portabella mushroom caps which were marinated in EVOO, balsamic vinegar, coriander, rosemary and oregano for about 30-45min. Served on a multi-grain In the Thin bun with a slice of Swiss, mustard and smear of mayo.

baked two small potatoes, served with a bit of becel and Liberte mediterranee plain yogurt

Sautéed :a sliced zucchini, sliced bell pepper and broccoli with EVOO, balsamic vinegar, s&p and red pepper flakes.

Result?

Oh so good!!!!

I haven’t had a portabella mushroom burger in ages and can’t remember why, b/c they are phenomenal!

Anyway, off to do some laundry, cleaning and cuddles with my man :)

Getting ready!

2010-04-14T14:12:00.001-07:00

So, I have been having a fabulous relaxing week and the theme of this week is Getting Ready!

My second eldest sister is getting married in a week and a day!

She has been through a lot these last few years (and a lot of bad relationships in general), so I’m psyched she has met a wonderful man to marry and have babies with!

(After all, that will take the grandchildren talk off my shoulders for a few more years)

So I am getting ready for quite a few things right now

1. Wedding stuff

a) Dress and shoes

Dress is from Ricki’s

A pair of fahbulous shoes from Payless

and since it was BOGO, I may have bought these too

I also may have worn them walking downtown today for my hair cut and now have made a blistered, chaffed mess of my feet!

b) Hair

So, my hair had become a grown out, shapeless mess, so I went to my great stylist and got this done this afternoon

I rock the inverted bob ;)

c) My emcee speech!

I am emceeing the reception and need to come up with some witty dialogue. My brain however is demanding a rest this week due to my overuse/abuse of it last week finishing up my final projects for school, so I will work on that this weekend.

2. I NEED A JOB!

Ok, so I’m finished my degree…GREAT! However, now I need a job…a good job…in my field…to start my career…and pay off my student loans!

I have been searching for jobs and sending in resumes, wish me luck!

3. Spring!

Or more specifically, spring cleaning. I am airing out the apt, washing walls and ceilings, baseboards, beating out the doormats, etc.

Oh so satisfying!

So, yeah, I’ve been a busy bee but it’s a more relaxed busy and I am thoroughly enjoying myself! :D

On another note, I wore dress pants today b/c I only have one pair of jeans that fit (a.k.a. not hanging off my bum) and they were dirty, so it was either dress pants or sweats!

Hope everyone is having a good week :)

BTW: WTF is up with Eastlink internet/Twitter????? Yesterday both were acting up and today Twitter will only post 1 of every 5 attempted tweets? So frustrating!

I also made these gems today, courtesy of Anne over at FANNetastic food. Easy, quick and deelish!

PR Grad Pub Crawl: The Rhetoric of Public Drunkenness

2010-04-12T09:05:00.001-07:00

“Some people are born great, some people achieve greatness and others hire Public Relations practitioners.”

Pre-pub crawl drinking games

Rearing to go

Introducing a class member to the oh so fun and yummy blowjob shot! (I’m on the right)

My team for Grad Class trivia

Second bar

We accosted the poor statue at the Lower Deck on our way out

Shots of southern comfort at The Ale House (Bar #3)

Feeling no pain as I celebrated drink #11

Getting our dance on at Cheers! So much fun!

Sociable!

Self-portrait, after about 15 drinks at this point, not too shabby!

DBF Alex showed up after he got off work around 11ish

Well I ended up having 17 drinks and partied from 3:30pm-1:30am after having been up since 7am. I think I deserve to be crowned Queen of the Pub Crawl and show that at 28 I can still keep my own with the best of them!

I’m alive and D.O.N.E.

2010-04-12T08:37:00.001-07:00

Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!

I am finished my PR degree and now I just need a job to make life complete!

Sorry for the absence but I spent an average of 10 hours a day last Mon-Wed doing school work, finishing up my final projects and then was up at 7am on Thursday to be at school for 8am to finish up my 1st person narrative that was due that day but by the time I left campus around 2:30pm I was done!

And it felt fantastic!

To celebrate I stopped at the liquor store on my way home and then proceeded with some celebratory pre-pub crawl drinking at 3:30 while I was getting ready to head out.

Our Grad Class had a super fun pub crawl that night and I LET LOOSE!

I was one of (if not the last) one to leave the final bar at 1:30am and by that time had consumed 17 drinks. Nothing beats the intestinal fortitude of a Newfoundlander ;)

I will do a separate post on the Pub Crawl with a few pics in a bit.

Suffice to say I was hungover like hell on Friday. I stayed in bed all day, ate junk food, drank a LOT of water and ordered a pizza for supper.

On Saturday I was still recovering with a lot more water and mostly carby food again that day.

Yesterday DBF and I went for a nice long walk through the commons, down Spring Garden for a yummy icespresso at Second Cup and then through downtown, onto the waterfront where we sat for a bit and then back to Spring Garden to watch a movie.

We saw Date Night and OMG it was hilarious! I was literally crying because I laughed so hard! Totally recommend it to everybody!

I didn’t feel like cooking so we picked up a frozen lasagna and garlic bread at Sobeys on the way home.

So, I am totally taking the 10 days before I leave for my sister’s wedding in NL to detox, eat lots of veggies and fruit and exercise like it’s going out of style!

Because although I had a very good time Thursday and had an extremely relaxing weekend my body is hating me right now and my skin which had taken on that rosy glow that happens when you eliminate crap from your diet has dimmed.

On that note I’m going to post about the Pubcrawl and then it’s off for a sweaty workout :D

Crunch Time, Stress and Whatnot

2010-04-02T10:12:00.001-07:00

Well I have one week left of school!

While that is a good thing, I am a busy beaver trying to tie up my last few school projects before this coming Thursday. I technically have until the following Monday for two of those projects but am determined to have everything done and passed in by the Thursday because that is the date of our grad class pub crawl and I want it to be a real celebration!

So I’m stresses. Not really about school because I have a good handle on that and everything is getting really close to being done.

I have an increasing amount of underlying stress regarding employment post-school (what else is new?). I have a few other stressors as well, but the majority of my anxiety-leading to sleepless nights-is employment.

I’m trying to be positive but it is hard.

I’m also in a financial crunch until i get my income tax refund (should be here next week) and GST (should also come sometime next week) and have had to cut out luxuries like Greek yogurt, spinach and fresh berries.

Sigh

On the bright side, in three weeks I’ll be in St. John’s for my sister’s wedding :)

It’ll be nice to finally have the whole family together at the same time, which hasn’t happened since me and my other sister and her family moved to Halifax in 2007.

Anyway, I will be blogging again more regularly after I finish my final projects :)

But one a bright note, I took my measurements last night and I’m down 9 inches since I started the x-weighted challenge in January :)

Taking a moment to blog

2010-03-26T14:22:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I am alive and well but busier than a honey bee!

It is officially crunch time right now with just two weeks to go before classes and my 2nd degree is complete!

So besides having a lot of school work to do, I am busy looking for jobs, writing cover letters and trying desperately to find a job in PR to start my career b/c if I have to take another job “to pay the bills” I may just scream!

I have definitely paid my dues and worked enough crap jobs for one highly (a.k.a. expensively) educated person to have in a lifetime.

So this combined with a very noisy and immature upstairs neighbour had me in quite the foul mood yesterday! I felt like a big stress ball of nerves yesterday and by the time my classes were done at 1:30pm I was ready to explode!

So to deal with this stress many options passed through my mind. I thought about alcohol, chocolate, pastries, chips, poutine…but just the thought of them turned my stomach.

You heard me

The thought of eating and drinking my emotions made me feel ill!?!?!?!

Very weird

Instead, I went for a run when I got home and then made pancakes for supper with ww flour, soy milk, vanilla and cocoa.

I woke up this morning in a great mood. Put on a pot of coffee, had leftover pancakes for breakfast and spent a few hours working on my communications plan.

Then I was waiting for the work done by my group member and decided to clean.

And clean I did!

I cleaned the kitchen, bathroom, dusted, swept and mopped the floors!

Then I took a small tv break and then cooked supper.

For supper: Sautéed shrimp with evoo, garlic, s&p and red pepper flakes = amazing; mashed taters, skins on = amazing; steamed mustard greens = FAIL!!!!

All I have to say about Mustard Greens is Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Now I normally love my leafy greens. But I was looking for a change and decided to give the Mustard greens a go. I mean they looked harmless enough-Nice big leafy greens.

But man oh man, I don’t know if I got a bad batch or they’re not meant to be steamed but they were extremely bitter and I had to choke them down. I did indeed choke them down (and will have to choke down the 2-3 servings I have left) because I’m poor and can’t afford to waste the $2.99 I spent on them. I will try sautéing them next and if that doesn’t work, maybe trying them in chip form (a la Kale chips) may be the answer.

Well I’m off. I have laundry to do and need to tidy and vacuum my room while I’m on still in the mood to clean.

I know, I’m such a rebel on a Friday night! ;)

I also got my graduation portraits back :) These are the 2 poses I had printed, I think they turned out well :)

If you have a moment read this personal essay, written by my friend and classmate Kim who is a breast cancer survivor and an amazing woman! xo

Fantastic Sunny Friday

2010-03-19T10:31:00.001-07:00

Well today is just beautiful out!

I went to the gym this morning because I was scheduled to do weights again today.

I have decided that due to Jaime’s rave review I will do The Fitnessista’s Intro to Iron.

I started out on Monday with Day 1, did Day 2 on Wednesday and Day 3 Today.

The verdict? I hurt…that’s a good thing :)

My sister is getting married at the end of April so I really want to tone my upper body before than and I’m hoping this does the trick!

I had a fabulous 75 minute workout this morning and then basked in the sunshine for 20 minutes while I waited for my bus to take me home.

Now that I’m showered and fed, I have a mountain of school work to tackle before mine and Alex’s date afternoon tomorrow :)

I’m really looking forward to my weigh-in tomorrow morning. It’s TOM so I’m not expecting a great loss but I’ve put in a lot of work this week and I’m hoping it will show on the scale.

Anyway, must get to the books, hope everyone is having a great Friday :D

When weight loss interferes with your social life and new kicks!

2010-03-16T14:23:00.001-07:00

There is always a lot of talk around blog land about how hard it is to socialize when you’re trying to lose weight.

I totally agree with that but I’m not finding it as hard to turn down social engagements when I know there will be copious amount of booze and food involved.

I turned down a friend’s husband’s b-day party last Saturday and an invitation to join a bunch of my classmates who will be celebrating St.Paddy’s Day tomorrow afternoon.

I knew that the party would be full of bad food and drinks, not a good combo when you’re trying to lose weight and even though I know I could have gone and stayed sober, I didn’t think I’d have fun so I stayed home.

I definitely know I won’t have fun tomorrow afternoon if I went out sober and I have so much school work to do, I don’t want to waste a productive afternoon drinking…I know I’m getting old…lol.

Now I don’t want everyone to think I’m saying that in order to lose weight one must be anti-social, I have offered to go for walks and hikes with friends and me and some friends are getting together for a clean eating pot luck soon :D

I’m planning on going out, drinking heavily and probably ending the night on pizza corner in April when we are having our grad class pub crawl and until then I’d like to keep my current level of motivation and focus.

I will earn a great night out after I work out and eat right for the next three weeks.

But until that happens I will stay home, get my school work done, exercise and eat right!

Oh yeah, and the other part of this post is I bought new runners today!

I can definitely afford them because of my sweet tax refund. I got a pair of Asics with Gel cushioning system and they feel like heaven! They were also on sale! Bonus :D I took them for a test run this evening in a 40 min walk/run and they feel awesome!

Question: Do you find that trying to live a healthy lifestyle/lose weight interferes with your social life?

Oh Baby!

2010-03-15T15:17:00.001-07:00

So technically I wasn’t suppose to start re-adding the potential problem foods back to my diet until tomorrow but my vajayjay feels fantastic and I decided on Sunday to have my beloved cup of coffee and man oh man was I ever happy!

I actually moaned while savoring my first sip!

I also had a small piece of multigrain toast on Sunday and today with my eggs and I’m still feeling great…so far, so good!!

My mom also did my taxes today (yes, I’m 28 and my mom does my taxes, but I’m a student and she likes doing them…lol) and I’m getting a VERY healthy refund this year and I am no longer stressed about the costs associated with a possible move to Ottawa in May or having to support myself here while I look for a job here :D

To top it all off I did a great 30 min arms and core workout at home using hand weights and my own body weight, followed by a 40 min jog with walk intervals in the sunshine! It was a perfect evening for a run!

I also had a productive day school wise. There is four weeks left to the semester and it is definitely crunch time right now. But no matter how hectic things seem to get, everything always gets done in the end :D

I also watched the final game of the Brier last night at the Metro Centre and had a blast! Would have loved to win the $27,000 50/50 draw too but that went to some guy in Bedford…pfft! lol

I even brought strawberries and almonds to snack on during the game so I wouldn’t be tempted by the evilness of concession food.

I rock :)

Alright, supper and then more school work!

-2.2

2010-03-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

I weighed in at 221.0 yesterday morning :)

Meaning I'm down another 2.2 lbs and brings my total lost to date at 15 :)

I'm very pleased with a 15lb weight loss in 9 weeks but according to my x-weighted challenge I'm still behind pace. The ooops, you're a little off track remark every time I record my weight is getting annoying.

Personally I think 1.7 lbs a week is good but to keep with my goal of 61 lbs in 6 months I need 2.3 lbs on average.

All I can do is keep up with what I'm doing and see what happens. I'm proud of my own progress right now and if I don't meet my goal and because of that don't qualify for a prize I don't really care. To me the prize is getting the weight off, so I'm using the challenge as a tool and not a measure of success :)

I'm roasting a chicken for supper and the apt smells amazing right now :D

Me and DBF are going to see the Brier final at the Metro Centre :) So excited, this was my b-day gift from him. I love curling and AB v.c ON is going to be a great match :D

Sad Day

2010-03-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

I'm sad today.

It's the one year anniversary of the Cougar helicopter (flight 491) that crashed off the coast of Newfoundland, 17 people died that day.

I knew the pilot and his family. He was a good friend of my brother-in-law and his wife is a good friend of my sister. She was a NICU nurse and they have two young children.

It's hard to do school work or really enjoy the sunshine with the heavy heart I have today.

However, now that I have finished my part of a group assignment I think a walk outside in the sun will lift my mood considerably.

R.I.P Matt, you are missed every day

Quick Update

2010-03-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know where this week has gone!

I'm super busy right now with class projects and getting things clued up for the final weeks of this degree!

I also get a trip home to Newfoundland at the end of April for my sister's wedding and I can't wait!!!!!!!

I miss home. Nova Scotia is a close second but there's no place like home :)

I went for a glorious 60 min walk in the sunshine this morning instead of working on my communications plan...oops...lol.

I don't regret it and I plan on spending a big chunk of my evening working on it and on my research methods projects...oh the fun.

On to other random thoughts...only 5 more days until I can enjoy a morning coffee again! yea! :D:D:D:D

-2.0 :)

2010-03-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

I woke up with the sun streaming through my window and then weighed in to discover I'm down another 2 lbs :D

223.2

I am almost out of the 220's...yet again!

I really hope that this time I can keep my motivation high and keep up my weight loss and healthy lifestyle changes this time around because I really want to reach my goal weight.

I suppose all I can do is take it one day at a time and try and keep my motivation going!

I picked up an issue of Clean Eating Magazine thanks to this post by Skinny Me, on a yummy looking spanokopita casserole. She had mentioed the great recipes in this mag and she wasn't joking! Once I'm allowed to start reintroducing yeast into my diet again I am so going to try this one and about a dozen of the other recipes that look amazing!

Anyway, off for a run in the sunshine, hope everyone has a fabulous Saturday :)

EDIT: 30 min run followed by 30 Day Shred = 50 min of activity for today :)

Steady As She Goes

2010-03-05T11:46:00.001-08:00

Well, I have decovered how to illeviate my irritability without punching someone in the nose...

Exercise!

I spent a fabulous, 80 minutes sweating it out at the gym this morning and it picked me up for the rest of the day :)

I wanted to go for a run outside but it is cold and windy out there again today and I didn't wanna, so I hit up the treadmill, elliptical and weight at the gym :)

On the weight loss front, I totally forgot to update my sidebar for a couple of weeks but I didn't weigh in during my b-day week and then forgot to post my 1.8 lb weight loss for last week. I am currently 10.8 lbs down in total on my X-Weighted Challenge and apparently off-track, according to their website. Meh, I feel that I'll have a good WI tomorrow so we shall see what happens with that.

I picked up some more leafy greens, Greek yogurt, veggies, cottage cheese and frozen blueberries at the grocery store today. FYI: Frozen BB + Greek Yogurt is oh so yummy!

Last night I really wanted ice cream!!! Like willing to walk 5km in a snowstorm type craving.

So I ate some greek yogurt and then sauteed some Red Swiss Chard and Brocolli :P

I have been feeling fine since then and didn't even glance twice at the ice cream when picking up my blueberries today :)

I get to babysit my fabulous and gorgeous neices tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it, they are too adorable for words! As such I am going to be doing school work for the rest of the night to get everything done so I can actually enjoy them while I'm there :)

Last week a little boy in my neice's kindergarden class told her he liked her golden hair..haha. How cute is that?

Irritable Much?

2010-03-04T13:12:00.001-08:00

Well there are really good things and really bad things about being on a medically supervised restrictive diet.

I love the fact that after only three full days on it that I can finally feel my infection clearing up :) I know that it’s working and that gives me the will to keep going when I really want to eat the things that I can’t right now :)

The worst thing?

Giving the stink-eye all those happy caffeinated students at school strutting around with their delicious smelling coffee!!!!!!

I MISS COFFEE!!!

**sniff, sniff**

More than anything else it is the gurgle of my coffeemaker in the morning and that first sip of velvet goodness flowing down my throat and that spark of revival in my brain….sigh

lol

I know, I’m sad…

I’ve also become quite irritable this week. No sugar, flour, dairy and coffee is really affecting my mood. Although, I find my irritability quite amusing and usually follow an internal snarky comment with a chuckle.

I’m not usually a cranky individual so being cranky to me is amusing.

I have said may times this week that almonds, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and berries have been keeping me sane.

Don’t get me wrong, I love fresh veggies and lean meats but it gets quite boring to the palette when you can’t change things up with a little cheese, fruit or oats.

I am also contemplating picking up some frozen cranberries and using the food processor to combine it with some Greek yogurt…

lol

Of course this is also the week in which so many beautiful bloggers are posting some fabulous looking recipes that I want to try…

Alas, two weeks will pass quicker than I think it will and I can reintroduce a nice variety of food once again…

P.S. I’m also a little irritated that I can’t have pickles b/c of the vinegar…

Entering the Homestretch

2010-03-02T17:21:00.001-08:00

I had a great mid term break last week.

I relaxed, did some school work, went for a couple of runs and watched a lot of Olympic coverage!

I have less than 6 weeks left of school and I couldn’t be happier about it! I am so looking forward to employment, money and a return to fun time :)

I had a short bout of insomnia lately (that I hope is over b/c I slept pretty good last night), I’m not sure what brought it on but I do feel an onslaught of anxiety in my peripheral, kind of hanging on to my subconscious…I really need a job in PR when I graduate or I may lose it entirely. I keep picturing myself drowning in student loan debt with no disposable income until the end of time.

Okay, mini-drama moment over…for now at least.

Another thing I am dealing with this week is eliminating A LOT of various things from my diet!

Okay, this may be a little TMI, so I am inserting a warning that I will be talking about feminine issues and if that’s not your thing then don’t read on ;)

I have been getting a lot of yeast infections over the last few years and each year it seems they get more frequent and more irritating.

Since December I have been getting them a couple of times a month and am fed up with it entirely. My doctor recommended that I cut out a whole lot of food for a couple of weeks to try and clear it up.

So, for the next two weeks I can’t have: Bread, grains, oats, dairy, sugar, or fruit.

Le sigh

So you may be asking….what am I eating?

Chicken, beef (so glad that chicken breasts and sirloin were on BOGO this week), eggs, vegetables, berries, almonds and yogurt.

My doctor recommended plain yogurt but since that didn’t really appeal to me I decided to try the Liberte Greek Yogurt everybody’s been raving about.

AND OMG I AM IN LOVE!!!!!!!

It is so thick, creamy and oh so yummy it needs nothing added to it!

Another thing you may or may not know about me but when I restrict my carbs I get super irritable and become a serious Ms. Cranky Pants!!!

One of the many reasons both Atkins and South Beach diets didn’t work for me.

However, since I am doing this to hopefully heal my body and make myself feel a hell of a lot better, it is much easier for me to resist the foods on my naughty list.

After two weeks I can start to reintroduce certain foods to see of they are a problem for me and I may have to cut out certain things forever or else suffer with an irritated va-jay-jay.

Hoping to get back on a more regular workout schedule this week too, so far a lack of sleep and rise in irritability hasn’t made that happen but tomorrow is another day :)

Nickel and Diming it!

2010-02-24T17:05:00.001-08:00

Literally

I decided Ms. Piggy was getting heavy

So I rolled up my pennies, dimes and nickels (I save quarters and loonies for laundry)

Hello an extra $25.50 into my life ;)

I think I’ll get a couple of rolls of quarters for laundry and then use the $5 on my print account at school :)

In other news I went for a short jog this evening…around 2, 2.5 K in total. Not too bad.

I then went to the grocery store b/c my cupboards are quite bare. I picked up some nice produce, body fit multigrain bread and spied this baby

Again I apologize for my crappy camera…but I saw this Liberte Goat Yogurt in the yogurt isle at Sobeys (situated next to some Goat’s Milk) and even though it’s about $1 more than my usual yogurt all the Liberte love in blogland pushed me to buy this sucker.

I do love how much fiber and protein this yogurt packs :)

Before heading down the yogurt isle, I happened down the snack isle b/c I was in the mood for a snack to go with the Canada/Russia hockey game tonight (which I am watching while trying to blog….very hard to do)

I put a bad of salt and vinegar chips AND a bag of pretzels in my cart, went down the yogurt isle and went down the eggs/cheese isle before heading back and putting the chips and pretzels back!!!! I looked into my car, seeing the contrast between my great produce pics and then thought about my jog and how much more running it would take to burn off the chips and pretzels and decided it wasn’t worth it.

Instead I picked up

I have yet to crack it open b/c I had to finish rolling money, blogging and watching the 1st period of the game but I will go during the 1st intermission and measure out about 5 points worth and enjoy every bite!

Off to watch the game. It’s been a great one so far

Go Canada Go!!!!

Birthday Weekend Recap

2010-02-22T14:54:00.001-08:00

Well, I turned 28 today. I can’t say it feels any different than yesterday…well maybe except for the two dozen Facebook birthday greetings :)

I could say I feel guilty for having drunk a bottle of red wine and a dozen beer in the last 5 days, and for the cookies, cake and pizza that was consumed…but I don’t.

It was my birthday, it only happens once a year and I spent 5 days celebrating it because I just finished midterm week and needed it!!

Anyway, I made a birthday cake for myself and my roommate and it will definitely be added to my recipe binder! It started off with me making a flourless chocolate cake with a recipe my roommate found online. For all of you who have made flourless cakes you know that after baking the fall in the middle. It also didn’t help the look of it when my roommate proceeded to pick at and eat the crispy top of the cake that was flaking.

Anyhow, I ended up with a one inch cake with a two inch border. So I decided that it would be genius to fill this cake with a chocolate mousse!!! Oh yeah, it was phenomenal!!!! I also decided to chop up some white and brown chocolate chips and sprinkle on top.

SUCCESS!!

I made this Saturday night and as of this morning there was one piece left.

I had mentioned last week that I received the best b-day card from my parents. I tried to take a pic but my camera sucks (it’s 6 years old and I’m in dire need of a new one) so I’ll write it out instead.

How to Make a Beautiful Life, Reflections for a Daughter on her Birthday

Love Yourself
Make Peace with who you are
and Where you are
at this moment in time.

Listen to your heart
If you can’t hear what it’s saying
in this noisy world.

Make time for yourself.
Enjoy your own company.
Let your mind wander among the stars.

Try.
Take chances.
Make mistakes.

Life can be messy
and confusing at times,
but it’s also full of surprises.
The next rock in your path
might be a stepping stone.

Be happy.
When you don’t know what you want.
Want what you have

Make do.
That’s a well-kept secret of contentment.

There aren’t any shortcuts to tomorrow.
You have to Make Your Own Way.
To know where you’re going
is only part of it.

You need to know where you’ve been too.
And if you ever get lost, don’t worry.
The people who love you will find you.
Count on it.

Life isn’t days and years.
It’s what you do with time
and with all the goodness and grace
that’s inside you.

Make a beautiful life…

The kind of life you deserve
---------

The card was perfect for what I’m dealing with this year and the struggles I have had since returning to school.

I didn’t expect anything from my parent b/c they are paying for my ticket home in April for my sister’s wedding but they enclosed a Sobey’s gift card stating “Here’s a little something to get some extra’s to help you in your eating healthy lifestyle.”

I am very thankful to have two wonderful parents :)

Saturday night was uneventful. My roommate and myself invited friends over to celebrate with some drinks and food but since it was midterm break, everybody had other plans and nobody came. I suspected this was to be the case which is why I didn’t want to do anything, but a few of my roommates friends came and DBF was there. So we watched Olympics, drank and had some food before heading to bed.

Today my license expired so I went to the DMV for an hour to get that done and now I finally have a NS license…how much do you wanna bet I end up moving to Ottawa in a couple of months and have to change it again?

For supper me and DBF picked up a pizza and my favorite bottle of wine and are relaxing and watching Olympics for the rest of the night.

Anyway, this post is getting long and I want to sip wine and cuddle :)

Update and random musings

2010-02-19T09:27:00.001-08:00

Wow, what a hectic week!

Well, this last week has passed in a blur of school, studying and more studying.

It was mid-term week and thankfully I only had two but one of them was research methods and I was stressed out in that course already so I found studying for it really stressful by itself.

The end result was good. I found the exam really easy and am glad to have it over with. I also wrote a management take-home which I found more challenging and in total spent like six hours writing the darned thing.

Anyway it is over and I’m now into mid-term break :) A whole week without classes makes me happy. I still have a lot of work that I want to get done but can do it on my time and get back to the gym.

On the gym front I have not gone in a week and am eager to get back at it! I think I will head out this afternoon for a great, sweaty workout!!! Oh yeah!

Last weekend was Valentine’s Day and I had more of a Valentine’s weekend :) I know many people think it’s hokey and just another consumer holiday but as I am in love for the first time, I have truly enjoyed it for the first time this year. Last year me and DBF had only been together for about a month and we hadn’t said the L-word yet. This year I just relished all the love I have for this man and soaked up the love shining from his eyes.

We did sushi on Saturday night and spent the day together inside on Sunday. I bought a bunch of snacks and made a platter so we could do brunch in bed. It consisted of grapes, strawberries, chocolate fondue, home made hummus, wheat thins, multigrain baguette, biscotti, pretzels, skittles, cheese and coffee. We barely made a dent in it before we were stuffed…lol.

DBF also surprised me with this

It is the first piece of jewelry I have ever received from a boyfriend, this is my first healthy loving relationship ever and I know he is my one and only. My heart melted when I got this and it hasn’t left my neck since.

On with my random musings…lol

I am turning 28 on Monday and I always find myself contemplating where my life is going as I near each birthday. I am definitely not at the place in my life that I thought I would be by 28. I always assumed that by now I would be in my chosen career, married with a kid or two…maybe be a home owner.

I have none of that right now but I am two months away from finishing my PR degree and I am so passionate about the profession and love the work that I did on work term. I just have to find a job so I can start my career which is giving me some anxiety right now.

I am also finally in a true loving relationship which I do believe will lead to marriage, kids and all that good stuff :)

My other musings have centered around pregnancy and motherhood. I know so many people who are expecting right now and it makes my inner mother ache right now. I can’t wait to be a mother but I know I want to finish school, get married and pay off the bulk of my student loan debt and hopefully be in my own house before that happens. But my brain does not control my emotions and I am soooo looking forward to the day I can finally be a mom and experience the miracle of carrying a child inside me :)

Anyway, this post is wayyyy too long and I probably lost everybody’s attention by now…off to fix lunch and go workout :)