Healthy You Check In, Weigh In and a bunch of blathering

I'm getting to be a bad blogger... sorry. There is just SO much going on in life lately that I'm finding it hard to have the chance to just sit down and reflect enough to come up with a semi-decent post.

First things first: I'm only down 0.6 lbs today. Not surprised. There was a bit too much apple crisp and lasagna in my diet as of lately.

So much is going on.. school is getting busy as I have two finals this week and a major project due. I'm very excited at the prospect of only having 5 weeks of classes left! Woohoo! I'm doing my best to maintain my 4.0 average so that does add a little extra pressure too.

My fiancee was just here visiting for the last four days. He just left about half an hour ago *sniff*. We had a great time, as always but I find it a bit harder to stay OP when he's around. We finally told my mom that we are moving in together when I'm done my practicum. She's less than thrilled (for religious reasons, not because she doesn't love him) but handled it much better than she did when I tried to talk to her about it on my own. The thing is, I'm 29 years old!!!!! But yes, I'm still scared of my mom at times. Sad eh? Regarding the wedding, we are 95% certain that the plan will be a wedding on the beach in either Mexico or the Dominican Republic in December 2009. Now it's just a matter of finding the right resort for the right price range, then preparing "save the date" packages and info to send out to our friends and families.

I also saw my lawyer this morning regarding my divorce and custody/child support issues. It was very encouraging as my lawyer is very optimistic that I will be awarded sole custody!!!!! I can't celebrate until it's a done deal of course, and it's a very long process but I can't help but feel a bit of relief already.

And my job... *sigh*. I'm been the admin assistant for my small church for the last year or so. Lets just say that I don't love it. I've decided to give my notice.. and lots of it because I know it will take them quite a while to find someone else. But the end of January I am done! I'm also going to be taking on some transcription work. This is through my mom's office and apparently there is tons of it if I find that I like it and can do it easily enough. Not that I really have the time for this right now but it would sure be great for down the road!

Anyways.. wow.. didn't plan on writing that much here but it helped me sort my thoughts at the same time. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with everything lately. Just so much going on. That's probably why I haven't done as much cooking as I should have to be a little more successful with Core. Being OP takes so much energy! Am I the only one that feels this? I am always constantly thinking of what I will eat next and planning meals and recipes... I need to try and simplify it somehow so that I can fit it in. Any suggestions? Making a weekly meal plan would help I'm sure but that seems so impossible. Well, I'll work on it this week..

Healthy You Check In & Weigh In

This is just going to be a quickie as I'm not much in the mood for writing today.

After my first week on Core, I'm down 1.8lbs. I'm ok with that but know I could have done much better.. I only half heartedly stuck to plan. Not sure what is wrong with me... but today marks a new week and a new effort once again. Gee, haven't we heard this song before?

Core and lovin' it! And recipes..

Today was day 3 of core and so far, I'm really liking it a lot. I'm finding that it's really not restrictive at all and there are tons of core recipes, close to core recipes and recipes that can easily be made core out there if you look a little. I have cooked good stuff every day so far (which is amazing for me LOL) so I know I'm getting a much healthier range of foods by not reaching for the easy, prepacked crap that can sometimes be appealing at the end of a long day. Bottom line is that I'll be much healthier in the end, not just skinnier.

On to some recipes.. I am awful about actually following recipes. I never do! I always tweak and change things around somewhat so sometimes it is truly a miracle that things end up tasting good! I thought I'd post the ones that work out so I can keep better track of them.

Corn and Potato Chowder

2 tbsp oil
1 onion chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
1/2 red pepper chopped
about 5 med. potatoes
3 bay leaves
dill (I added lots cuz I love it!)
pepper (same!)
5 cups water
5 packages Chicken bovril (the original recipe called for chicken broth but I had none but if that's what you used, 1L would do + 1 cup water instead of the 5 cups water)
3 cups skim milk
1 1/2 cup corn (I used frozen)

Heat oil in dutch oven. Add onions and saute 5-10 min. Add celery, bay leaves, potatoes, red pepper and stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer until potatoes are tender. Add milk and corn. Continue to simmer 5 minutes until corn is tender. Discard bay leaves and puree in blender.

** I only pureed some of the soup and left some with little chunks.
** This recipe makes a lot as I have a lot of people in my house. You could easily half it.

Core Cornbread

2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup splenda (add more or less depending on how sweet you like your cornbread - this amount only gave a mild hint of sweetness in my opinion)
2/3 cup applesauce
1 egg
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 tbsp canola oil

Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Add wet ingredients into dry mixture. Pour into greased muffin tin or dish. Bake 12-15 min at 350.

** In all honesty, this recipe needs a little more tweaking.. it was a little dry so I think next time I make it, I'll add some plain FF yogurt.

That's all for now.. more recipes to come soon!

Healthy You Check In & Weigh In

Bah. I'm pretty sure my 5lb loss last week was a fluke as I didn't see that number again after that. In fact, today I was back up those 5lbs. Although I do admit that I did get discouraged after seeing the number up last week after the weigh in and I gave myself full permission to eat stuff I shouldn't. That said, it also made me think... I absolutely suck at tracking my intake and counting points. I used to do awesome with the whole points system, hence my consistent losses last winter/spring. But I'm just not feeling it anymore... Don't worry, that doesn't mean I'm saying adios to WW though. I've gone core! As of today. I honestly never thought I'd do core, thinking it was way too restrictive of what you can eat but don't really feel that way anymore. So that's a plus, right? That means that my eating habits have become healthier, right? I'm really looking forward to seeing how core works for me. I have no classes today and my car is in the shop so I got groceries yesterday and will spend part of day today cooking cauliflower soup, Core Cornbread and Carrot Cake Cookies. I'll come back with recipes and reviews later..

So menu for today:
B: skim milk, pineapple, FF yogurt
L: two hard boiled eggs, tiny bit of light miracle whip (for points as I can't stomach the ff stuff), half WW pita (1pt), orange
S: Cauliflower soup and cornbread

Healthy You Check In, Weigh in and BIG NEWS!!

Okay, just can't contain it.. I'll get the big news out of the way first. Check this out!!



Yep, it's official! Mike has asked me to marry him at least 5 times in the last few months but yesterday he finally did it up right with a ring and all :) I'm so so so so happy!! Unfortunately, I still have no pics of us together as he gave it to me in the car leaving the West Edmonton Mall parking lot (real romantic, I know) and the only witness was my 2 year old daughter. But hey, at least he has good taste in rings!

Anyways, after being away all weekend (we just got home late last night), I wasn't sure how the weigh in would go as I was staying at Mike's parent's house and not in control of the food, etc. BUT I'm down 5 lbs so I must have made some good choices (and I think more importantly, had good portion control and very little snacking). Only two more pounds until I'm at virgin weight!! LOL

I had originally planned to get in a great workout today as I have no classes but the desire to trek all the way down to school just for a work out has sort of dwindled. I have to unpack, do laundry and just do some overall catch up after being away the last 4 days and having a busy week of exams last week. But tomorrow, I promise, will be a good workout day.

Hope you all have a great week!!

I'm afraid I've joined the dark side...

I just bought my first pair of pants from Lulu Lemon. In get this: a size 10!! I normally wear a size 16 pant! I've been wanting to buy some forever but have always felt intimidated by that store. But, after reading discussions months ago on the WW boards that there are certain styles that run big, etc, I was pretty sure I could find some that would fit me. I originally set it as my goal to buy a pair after I reached the 200 lb mark... but I just couldn't wait any longer!! It's been a stresssssssssful week with all of the exams (3 down, 1 to go tomorrow) and at least I didn't eat a bunch of bad food, right?

Update: For those inquiring minds, these are the pants I bought in black. Can I tell you how much I LOVE the fact they have pockets?!?!

Healthy You Check In & Weigh In

Ahhhh it's Tuesday once again. I've been a day ahead of myself the last two days (thinking yesterday was Tuesday and that today is Wednesday). Maybe that just shows how badly I want this week over and how much I'm looking forward to the coming weekend? I have three finals and a midterm this week... well, one final is down already (had it this morning). It was done online so I already have my mark. I got 93% on the final, which makes my final mark for the class about a 96%. I think I can be happy with that :)

Anyhow.. on to this morning's weigh in. I was down 2.8 lbs so that's definitly in the right direction. Honestly though, I didn't do well with eating on the weekend at all so I'm glad I still had a loss but can't really feel super proud of myself or anything. Plus it's a portion of these same stupid 5lbs that I've lost about 5 times now in the last few months. But I am determined to make this be the final time. The day I reach "virgin" weight and weigh in under 220, I'll be thrilled! Then I'll feel like I'm making actual progress again. Seven pounds to go for that..

The one thing that I CAN feel proud about doing is getting back into the whole routine of working out. I ventured down to the gym on campus last Tuesday and have been there 4 times since then. My friend also twisted my arm into going swimming and I found that I love it! I think part of the reason that I'd been dragging my butt about going back to the gym was that I was bored with it. After accomplishing running a 5K and a 10K this summer, I was sick of running too. So, swimming may just be the new thing for me, or at least a combination of gym and swim.

Anyways, gotta keep it on the short side for now.. got a ton of homework to do. Just keeping my eye on the prize (so to speak) - I'm going up to Edmonton Friday after school to spend the weekend with my man! Hurray!

I had good intentions..

And just to clarify, I'm not talking about my workout today. I did go to the gym and worked up a decent sweat. No, I'm referring to the yummy salad dinner I had planned last night. I'd been thinking of it all day... chicken breast cooked in terryaki sauce with onion, on top of lettuce with toasted almonds and feta cheese. Okay, this may sound like an odd combination to some but it really is yummy. So, I'm cooking the chicken and onions... all goes well. I put the sliced almonds under the broiler to be toasted. Children start demanding things... K needs a diaper change... T wants to listen to "princess" music... all of a sudden, what's that awful smell? Oh no! It's the almonds! I run up to the kitchen and see what was once to be my delicious, nicely toasted almonds in flames. My oven was literally on fire! Holy crap. Seriously! Children are now screaming and freaking out. I'm frozen.. what do I do? DAAAAAAAD! Yep, my dad was upstairs watching TV. He came down to the rescue and threw the flaming dish out into the grass, which fortunately was still wet from the frost we had yesterday. The house is pretty much blue with smoke which I can still smell today. But no one was hurt, nothing was terrible damaged.. except my almonds and the poor pie plate I had used. So, we continue on with dinner, sans almonds, with every window and door open, trying to air the place out. I just didn't have the heart to try and toast some more. All is well though.. I put the chicken on the lettuce, get out the feta cheese, weigh it and crumble it over top. I sneak a little pinch, as I usually do.. I love that stuff! OMG! GROSSSSS! It had gone bad and had this awful bitter, icky, gross taste. And it's now all over my otherwise yummy food. *sigh* I recover the chicken and toss the rest. So much for my planned healthy salad meal...

Healthy You Check In & Weigh In

Well, there's good news and bad news this week....

Bad first: I'm up 5lbs in the last two weeks. It's no surprise. I've been drastically off track, especially the last week or so with Thanksgiving in there. No excuses, it's been a conscious decision.

Good news: I'm on track today AND (drum roll please) I actually found the gym at school today! It's pathetic but it was my first gym workout in nearly two months. I did 40 min on the elliptical and 25 on the treadmill (ran 15, walked 10). I'm thinking of going back to good ol' Couch to 5K, not starting at the beginning but part way through.

Things to help me stay on track this time:
- I have a friend lined up to work out with me tomorrow and Friday
- I have a container full of yummy, filling, healthy soup in the fridge
- I have a bunch of fresh fruit and veggies to munch on

I'm trying to use up the food we have this week, instead of blowing a bunch of money when there is still plenty here. I'm trying to make a deal with myself of no eating out (including no coffee) and no new groceries other than the stuff we go through more quickly like milk, fruit, etc. With Christmas coming soon, I need to keep myself in check a little more and not spend when I don't need to. Don't we all know that story... LOL

Anyways, here's to a good week!

Yummy Yummy Soup

In my attempt to keep food interesting, I'm always on the look out for appealing and healthy recipes. When reading the blog of Sara (Trisaratops) from the Healthy You Challenge, she mentioned a delicious black bean soup that I just had to try. And I'm glad I did! I've never tried anything with black beans before, but I'm a huge fan of cilantro so that sealed it for me. And it was sooooo good. Here's the recipe. I soaked my beans overnight, didn't use or sweet potato but followed everything else pretty exactly. Oh, I also added smoked paprika as suggested in some of the great comments. Anyways, it was a hit as everyone in my house loved it (which meant no leftovers, unfortunately!). I forgot to calculate the points for my version, but I think it is roughly around 4-5 per serving. Not bad at all as it is quite filling. I served it with a warmed pita bread on the side.

What's your fave soup recipe?

Healthy You Check In & Weigh In

Pretty please can I just fall over yet? I'm sooo tired and dragging my butt around today. Diet has sort of fallen to the wayside the last few days as I have two sick kids and have made several trips to the ER at Children's and the walk in clinic. Unfortunately my older daughter does not seem to be responding to her meds for tonsillitis and a UTI so back to the doctor we'll go tomorrow. It's never ending it seems!

So, for my weigh in today, I'm only down 0.4, which means that I'm 0.6 away from reaching my goal of losing 6 lbs since I recommitted a few weeks ago. Not happy about that as I know I could have done it. The only good thing is that it is enough of a loss to take me back over the 40 lbs lost mark, thank goodness. My next goal is to lose 6 lbs (now 6.6lbs) by Thanksgiving. Yikes.. that's gonna be cutting it close I think, though I know it is do-able if I completely stay OP. Then again, if I manage to catch my girls germs, I'm bound to lose a few extra lbs. LOL. I should not be wishing for that though!! I have a very busy next couple of weeks at school and cannot fall behind now.

Blah.. sorry, just feeling all whiny and complain-y today. I hope ya'll are doing better out there!

BLAH Apparently I can't add either! Still 0.8 to go until I'm back at 40 lbs lost. Ack..

Healthy You Check In & Weigh In

I had to cross my fingers as I stepped on the scale today and fortunately, everything turned out okay. After my big loss last week (5lbs), I knew it would be harder to have a good loss this week, plus the fact that I was at a wedding all weekend and totally not in control of what I was able to eat as we were out in the middle of no where. I managed to stay the same so I am happy with that.

The wedding was awesome fun though, after all, I was there with my boyfriend and child-free (for the first time ever!!) so how could it not be fun?? LOL. Tons of driving though - I think it was about 17 hours on the road between Friday afternoon and Sunday night UGH. My lower back is still sore from sitting so much. But all in all, not one complaint. And the kids faired just fine without me, though Grandma is still a little tired.

And what is it about weddings that make you start planning your own? LOL Mike has asked me about 5 times now to marry him but not "officially" - meaning, no ring yet. But, we did decide that planning a wedding looks like way too much work (not to mention money) so we're thinking that heading down to somewhere tropical and getting married barefoot on the beach is much more our style. Anyone done that and have any tips? Apparently we're going ring shopping next weekend when he comes down to visit. And yes, that makes me feel very giddy :)

I'm trying really hard to get back on track food-wise today as I really want to meet my goal of losing 6 lbs by the end of the month, which means I need a loss of at least 1lb this week. I heard that the gym at school is totally state of the art and not all that crowded so I really need to find a way to check that out. My goal is to go at least once this week. Baby steps, right?

It's KEEN-wah!

I felt like such a dork when I went into Planet Organic yesterday looking for Quinoa. I pronounced it exactly how it is spelled and the guy was like, "Oh, you mean Keen-wah?". Umm yah, okay.

Anyways, I've been wanting to try some quinoa for quite some time because it's so high in protein but never found a recipe, or maybe more accurately, the motivation to find an appealing recipe, to make some up. Well, last week I bought Company's Coming Low Fat Express Cookbook when they were 50% off at Superstore. By the way, these are my fave cookbooks.. I must have at least 10 around here. And this one is great! It has a ton of good recipes and includes all of the nutritional info. So, I tried making Apple Cinnamon Quinoa.

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa

1 cup skim evaporated milk
1/2 cup apple juice
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sweetened applesauce (I used unsweetened)
2 tbsp brown sugar, packed (I used 1 tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar blend)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

Combine milk and apple juice in large saucepan. Heat on medium until hot, but not boiling. Add remaining 5 ingredients. Stir. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until quinoa is tender.

Makes 4 servings and the way that I made it, it was about 5 points per serving. Not too bad for a complete breakfast though, right?

I found it waaaaaaay too sweet, even though I used unsweetened applesauce and less brown sugar. I think it might have been the evaporated milk? The texture itself was okay though.. it sort of reminded me of Red River Cereal (which I love). I may try making it again and just using regular skim milk instead of the evaporated milk. Or, I may just stick with my Red River Cereal ;) In the meantime though, I have at least a cup of uncooked quinoa leftover. Any good suggestions of what to do with it? Preferably something more savory...

Healthy You Check In & Weigh In

It's been a while since I've checked in with the Healthy You Challenge but thought I'd jump back in this week. I also weighed in today since I forgot yesterday. I am actually thinking that Tuesday will be my new official WI day.. works better with my schedule right now since Mondays I get to sleep in a little and I like to weigh myself as soon as I get up and before I jump in the shower. Anyways, today's weigh in kicked butt!! I am down 5.0 lbs from last week!!!!!!!!! This leads me to think that last weeks WI (and rather large gain) was a big water gain, which would make sense seeing as it was also TOM. But anyhow, 5 lbs is 5 lbs and I'll take it!

Everything else is going good school (I got 100% on the test I was so stressed about last week!!) and relationship-wise (we had a huge talk Friday night and now things are sooooo good!!). The only thing I'm still haven't difficulty fitting in to my life so far this fall is exercise. I used to be so good about earning my APs but right now, it's either study or go work out and so far, studying is winning out. In all honesty, I think it has to right now. This program is only 5 months long and I need to make the most of it. Of course that doesn't mean I'm a total slouch.. I do try to do things like walk up the 5 flights of stairs to my classes, go for little evening walks with the kids, etc. It would be great if I could somehow fit more in though.

Anyhow, here's to another OP week!

TGIF!!

I'm soooooo ready the weekend. It's not like it means I get to relax, because quite honestly, this weekend seems to be jam packed full of plans, but it means my poor brain gets to relax a wee bit. I feel absolutely overstuffed... and no, not my tummy for once - overstuffed with information. I am taking 8 classes right now!! Not sure how I am going to be able to remember everything... but I'll have to manage somehow. The majority of my classes are health/medical related but two are computer classes and even though I thought they'd be boring and a PITA, I'm loving them! I got to put a computer back together today. I got to learn how SIMPLE it actually is to replace memory, hard drives, etc. Seriously, those are life skills in today's day and age.

Anyways.. I've been a pretty good girl diet-wise the last couple days. Tonight I did have a few pieces of Domino's thin-crust pizza and one glass of regular coke but I have barely touched my flex points all week so I'm still well within my points for the week. I'm really proud of the fact that I've been really getting in my fruits/veggies and that I'm getting up early enough to make myself a decent breakfast to start my day. I have unfortunately discovered the location of the campus Starbucks and made a stop there the last two mornings. I've had serious cravings for my non-fat Chai Latte... only 3 points though for a tall (plus a serving of dairy) so not really too much damage done, other than to my wallet. I need to stop getting to school so early so I won't have time to go over there before class! LOL

On the relationship front, I did have a little talk with Mike yesterday afternoon. We've both just been so tired lately that by the time we talk at the end of the day, neither of us have a whole lot to say. I get that. I asked him if he really thought he was ready for the girls and I to move up there in February. He told me that basically he feels like he is living and breathing for February to come... that it's something he's been waiting for for such a long time and he can't wait to have us there every day. Then he asked me if that's what I wanted.... I said yes.. but I don't think I convinced him (I admit I didn't say it very convincingly). I said that it was what I wanted but that I was a little scared and that there was stuff I wanted to talk about so that we start out being all on the same page. He agreed that it was a good idea... so that's a start anyways. I'm really really really looking forward to seeing him next weekend. It should be a lot of fun and maybe even a little romantic seeing as it will be just the two of us with no kids around (for the first time ever!!).

Anyways.. guess that's it for now :)

Humph..

To be honest, I'm a little grumpy tonight. I can't exactly pinpoint why but I think that perhaps it's just a little bit of everything.

I had my first quiz today at school. And quiz my butt! It was more of a full on test, marked out of 46 and worth 10% of my final grade. No easy multiple choice questions either.. full on written answers. Ugh. I thought I knew the material inside out but I completely spaced on a few of the questions. I'm hoping the results won't be too bad but I'm a little stressed about it.

And... men. *sigh* I've had a little bit of a not-super-connected feeling to him lately. It's hard.. we live over 500km apart and it's been 2.5 weeks since I've seen him. That's the longest we've gone without seeing eachother and I still won't see him until next Friday. We talk daily but the last few nights when he calls, he's dead tired from working 16 hour days and I'm dead tired from school, etc so the conversations have been filled with a lot of dead air. And that's for sure one of my top five most annoying things. No one's fault really... but for some reason I'm feeling annoyed with him tonight.

Also on the back burner of my mind is that I know he wants me to move up there once I'm done school (in February) and I think I want that as well...... but at the same time, there's a big list of things I feel like we need to talk about still before I'll be totally ready to do that. Because if I pick myself and the girls up and move there, that's it. It means that this is the man I'm spending the rest of my life with. He says there'll be a ring on my finger by next month... we'll see. The thing I think that I'm annoyed with him about is that it feels like he thinks he has me now and so he doesn't have to try anymore. Maybe it's my own fault because at the beginning of our relationship I told him I wasn't into romance.. and I never used to be but I'm finding myself longing for a bit of it right now. Bottom line: we need to talk. He has no idea how I feel and I am one of the worst for communicating so that's something I need to work on NOW. I think I'm going to go to the library and get one of those books like "1001 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married" or something. This talk needs to happen soon... hopefully the weekend when I go see him, though we'll be at the wedding and busy with that.. but soon.

Blah.. okay, I think that's probably the biggest thing that's making me grumpy tonight. I'm also extremely tired today (didn't sleep well last night) so .. well, you know how it goes.

On the weight loss front, I was OP all day (3 days in a row woohoo!). Also haven't bought any fast food, even coffee, this week which is huge for me.

I'm off to bed now.. hopefully a good night's sleep awaits me.

I'm back! Weigh in #1

After a summer long hiatus about not being serious about the weight loss, I'm back, effective yesterday. This fall is bringing with it several changes... me going to school being one of the biggest! I'm in my second week now at SAIT and I'm thinking it's going to be quite a busy semester. All in all though, I'm so glad that I decided to go back to school and just wishing that I did it sooner. I'm taking the Health Information Office Assistant program and it's nice and short - only 5 months - so I think I'll just lock myself away in my room studying until I'm done. I can do that, right? I don't think my kids will mind THAT much ;)

Anyways, summer was great this year... but I am glad to be back into routine. I just found it so difficult staying on track food and exercise wise when I was away from home so much. The only trip I have planned this fall is a quick weekend trip up north to attend a wedding with my boyfriend. And I'm going sans kids! So excited about that!!

Back to weight loss - I decided that I'm going to start fresh, hence the new look of my blog. This is week one (well, started yesterday). I gained back just about 10 of the pounds that I lost but I'm not going to dwell on it.. I'm starting again, all 229 lbs of me. I'm setting new goals for this fall and looking forward to achieving them.

First of all, the new stats. I'm not proud of them in any way, shape, or form but here they are..

Weight: 229.8
Waist: 40.5
Bust: 45
Hips: 47

I'm not going to go into how much they've increased since the last time.. I think that would only discourage me and like I said, this is a fresh start!

New goals:
lose 6 lbs by September 29
lose 12 lbs by Thanksgiving
be under 200 by New Years

I look forward to reading your blogs again.. not sure how much of that I'll be able to do with the studying that I need to accomplish but I've always been a good procrastinator ;) In the process of changing my blog though, I lost my list of blogs that I love to read! If you want to be on my blog list, please please please post a comment with your addy! Thank you!

WI #32 and the big 10K!

Wow.. I hadn't realized how long it's been since I updated. While not completely back on track, I'm happy to say that things are moving in the right direction and I'm down 3.2 lbs in the last few weeks. That takes me back over the 40 lbs lost mark (41 to be exact!) so I'm happy about that. I'm really looking forward to September because I think with school starting, I'll get back into my regular routine and it'll be easier to get serious about this weight loss business again. It appears that I have some big breaks between my classes so my goal is to go and workout during those times.

On another note, I did my first 10K last Sunday! It was a blistering hot day, which was quite brutal as I don't tend to run outside on really hot days so I was not used to it at all. I ran with my cousin and to be perfectly honest, neither one of us had adequately trained. We made it through running the first 5K and then ran/walked the second 5K. Honestly, I am pleased with that. However, did I mention that I never run outside on really hot days? LOL At the last water station they gave us an entire bottle of water (prior to this it had just been little cups) and I chugged it down because I was soooo thirsty. Right at the finish line I chugged another bottle of water. Well, about 15 min later in the car, I started feeling incredibly nauseous. And of course my uncle was driving us across the city to pick up take out from his fave restaurant. Ugh.. so we are on the way back towards my house and I am feeling just awful and agonizing this entire hour long drive in the car, dripping in a cold sweat (I swear I sweat more after the run than during the run itself, despite that AC in the car!) and then UH OH! I stick my head out the window of my uncle's shiny BMW and empty the contents (luckily just water) of my stomach all down the side of his car and the road (yes, we were driving down a major roadway at the time). Immediate (temporary) relief! LOL It was awful... I think I ended up with a case of heat exhaustion/stroke and had to lay pretty low for the rest of the day due to nausea/dizziness, etc. By yesterday I was feeling pretty good though, just a little muscle soreness and it feels like I bruised the bottom of my foot.

But ya know, this race made me realize that I think I'm over my initial infatuation with running. I think I was so excited at first because it was like WOW, I can actually run! Now I hate to admit, but I kind of dread it. I hope this will change once I get back on track completely but right now, my body just feels so heavy.. which really makes no sense since I have been running for the last 30lbs of my weight loss.

Anyways, I'm off for now... leaving to go see M later today and I'll be back in a week :)

WI #29

Well, it's a step in the right direction.. I'm down 1lb this week. For some reason, I'm really just not in a blogging mood lately... but I want to at least write when I WI and stuff, just to keep track of everything.

On another note, I signed up for a 10K today.. it's soon - August 17! I'm excited though as my cousin is joining me in the run. I've been keeping up with my workouts in training but the last week or so, I've had some serious psiatic (sp?) pain. Not fun :( So hopefully that clears up sooner than later.

Thanks to all who still read here.. I've been reading quite a few blogs lately but am afraid that I've not been a very good commenter. I'm sorry!! Not quite sure what is up with me... hopefully I'll get more involved again soon as I find that my success dramtically increases when I blogg/comment alot. Must mean I'm more focused when I'm doing that.

Anyways, I'm leaving town again tomorrow for a week so I'll check back when I get home!

Gross

I'm sitting here tonight feeling incredibly pathetic. I just feel sluggish and .. just gross. My last round of motivation lasted less than a week, and though I wasn't THAT bad on vacation, since coming home last Tuesday, I've been even less stellar. Blame it on my birthday that included celebrations spread out over 3 days. Blame it on just about anything but there's no excuse that will take away the weight I've put back on. I don't know exact numbers yet as I've been too scared to face the scale. I'm saving that task for tomorrow morning.

I miss seeing losses every week.

I miss feeling "light" instead of bloated and full.

I miss feeling good about myself. And this just might be my biggest motivator right now. After years of feeling embarassed about my body, I was finally starting to feel good about it, even a little proud. And that is disapearing :(

So tomorrow I will be back at it. And there will be more excuses and going off track just because I'm going out of town. That's been one of my big problems the last month and a half because I've going away every couple weeks. I still have two more weekends away planned in the near future but that doesn't mean WW will go out the window. I just can't let it.

I nearly forgot

to post today but I promised to post daily this week so here we go.

Today started well.. had a good 90 min cardio sweat session at the Y. Then the girls and I went to the mall for lunch (again, not too bad, had a small wrap at 6ish points). Things went a little downhill after that at dinner time but all in all, I shouldn't be over my points all that much. I'll do my best to make tomorrow a low point day to even it out.

I'm feeling soooooo good right now though. I just got off the phone with M and wow... I just love him :) He's planning a surprise for my birthday on the 15th and he was driving me crazy trying to make me guess at it. I just can't wait to see him next Tuesday.. he's joining my family on vacation, which will be nice but at the same time, wishing my parents weren't going to be there so the separate bedroom rule didn't have to apply ;)

Anyhow... hope ya'll are doing well!

Healthy You Check In

It's a new month and I'm so glad. June was less than stellar so I'm looking at July as a fresh start. I've been thinking about my goals both for this month and for a little longer term and have decided that:

1- My goal to be down 50 lbs by July 15 is unrealistic. That is 11.2 lbs away. I'm going to change this to August 15. Instead, I want to be below 220 (lose 5lbs) by then.

2- My goal of reaching my 2nd 10% by the end of July is unrealistic. That is 14 lbs away. Bumping that back to August 31.

3- I want to be out of the 200s by Thanksgiving. That means 25 lbs to go by October 13th.

4- Run a 10K at the end of August. Train 3X a week to prepare for this.

5- Rack up 1000 min of cardio in July.

6- No more eating after 8pm.

To go along with this fresh start, I'm playing with the idea of re-designing my blog. I'd like to add in a box that scrolls along the side for my weigh ins because that's getting awfully long. Does anyone know how to do this?

I also have a goal for this week of blogging everyday and reading through all the blogs of those who check in in the HYC today. Looking forward to checking in and saying hi to you all! It may take me a few days but it's long overdue :)

WI #25 - Owning up and moving on

Wow.. it's been two weeks since I've posted. And just like 99.9% of other people who stop posting for a while, it's because I've been off track and just busy in general. It's been easier to just avoid checking in here and then actually pick myself up and continue on my journey. But today I'm here and I'm going to update all my numbers, as much as it may hurt. But being honest with myself and just putting it all up here is going to be a huge motivator, I'm sure.

Today I weighed in at 224.8lbs. I think that's up nearly 4lbs since I last weighed in 2 weeks ago, and up about 6 or so lbs since my lowest weight a few weeks before that. Ouch.

I have done okay with the exercise the last week or so, getting 3 solid workouts last week but the eating... it's been WAY WAY out of control. I ate because I was bored, because there was bad foods in the house, because I was hot, because I was in the kitchen, because the kids didn't finish, because it was my dad's birthday.... all of those horrible reasons and excuses to over eat, I used them. And it makes me sad because I've been working so hard the past 6 months and I thought that I had managed to retrain myself (or at least partially) in the way I deal with food, but evidently not so much. I've managed to leave a month weighing more than I came into it with. I've also managed to make achieving my goals of losing 50lbs by the 15th of July (my bday) and losing my 2nd 10% by the end of July very very difficult, if not totally unobtainable. Which really sucks.

I was supposed to do my measurements last Monday but did them today instead. Thank goodness they at least remained steady!!

4 weeks ago:
223.2 lbs
39" waist
45" hips
43"bust

Today:
224.8 lbs
39" waist
45" hips
43" bust

Total difference this month: 0" and +1.6 lbs
Total difference since start: 22" and 38.8 lbs

Enough with this beating up on myself though. I may have been a bust in the weight loss department this month, but I worked on a few other goals this month that are just as important.

1- I was accepted into SAIT, I've completed my registration, paid my deposit, applied for funding, and received over $2,000 in bursaries and grants.

2- I have taken necessary steps to get my divorce started. July should see a bunch more progress in this area.

Plus I've been able to spend quite a bit of time with M, which makes me very happy. My kids are in love with him and I'm pretty sure my mom is too. I've had to reign her in a little bit because she's practically ready to start planning a wedding LOL. Right now emotionally, I feel happier and more content than I've felt in a long time.

So it's not been all bad! July is a new month and even though I go on vacation to Fernie for a week, starting next Monday, I'm determined that this will be a great month for weight loss. I'm going to spend some time thinking about my goals for the next few months and post those tomorrow.

Anyways, I'm back!

WI #23 and Healthy You Check In

Blaaaaah. Not feeling very motivated this week. In fact, I feel gross, bloated and FULL from all the crap I've eaten the last few days. Gross. And the scale shows it - I'm up 2.2lbs. No surprise there. Not exactly sure where my motivation went but I'm pretty sure that it goes hand in hand with no working out. And the fact that I haven't gotten in a workout in 3 weeks is pretty pitiful.

That said, I'm trying very hard not to let myself get totally down about this... tomorrow is a new day and I'm more than ready to get back on the wagon. I've got an intense workout planned for tomorrow morning and good food stocked in the fridge. I have downloaded a bunch of new tunes and I'm looking forward to getting back into routine.... for a few days anyhow. Thursday the girls and I head back up north to visit M... I've got to find a way to stay on track (or at least relatively so) while I'm up there. And to get some exercise in as well. We can always do walks and M mentioned wanting to take me golfing... not that that is extremely strenuous cardio oranything but better than nothing. Any tips? How do you stay OP while away from home????

Now I'll do my pitiful update on my June goals..

As far as June's goals go...
1- Lose 8lbs by June 30 I'm at 2.2/8
2- Get 1000 cardio minutes I'm still at 0...
3- Try again for 3 runs a week HA! None last week...

Yah.. pretty sad. But I can turn it around. I was THISCLOSE to getting some new 45lb bling last week but I'm a little further away now.. I need to stay focused in order to reach my goal of 50 lbs gone by my birthday (July 15). Crap! That's under a month!! And 7.4 lbs to go... and a long weekend and weeklong vacation in there too. Ok.. breath.. I can do this! Please kick my butt and help me stay focused!! Any tips to stay OP while I'm away???

Healthy You Check In

I thought I'd get this done a little early this week :)

I am so glad to actually be healthy this week! The flu/stomach bug that attached itself to me last week was absolutely brutal and Sunday was the first day in nearly a week that I finally felt "normal" and was able to eat normal food without it sending my stomach into distress. So now that I'm finally getting my head above water this week, I'm realizing holy moly! It's already the 9th of June! This month is flying by! But the last few weeks have been great on the weight loss front but especially on the personal front. I've been able to spend lots of time with my man... which is awesome because he lives 6 hours away. He's down here this week and then I'll go back up to his place next Thursday. My girls absolutely adore him and he them so that makes everything even better. I am just trying to soak up as much time as possible with him this summer because (drumroll please!!) I got accepted into school for this fall!! I had applied to several different programs and was waitlisted on all of them but was just accepted into my first choice last week. Very excited about it!

Things on the diet and exercise front could definitely improve though... even though I've managed to pull out some decent losses, I know it won't last if I don't get back on it. It's not that my motivation is lacking, it's more just a time thing. I really need to work on this this week and find ways to exercise, even if M is here or if I am up at his place. As far as food goes, I haven't tracked either and have made decent choices, definetly small serving sizes, especially of foods that may not be the best choices.

As far as June's goals go...
1- Lose 8lbs by June 30 I'm at 4.4/8
2- Get 1000 cardio minutes I'm still at 0... may need to adjust this
3- Try again for 3 runs a week I didn't run in the last week because I was sick... this week? Hopefully at least two

Weigh in #22

After missing last weeks WI, I'm happy to say that I'm down 4.4lbs in the last two weeks... very pleased actually considering I haven't tracked and haven't exercised in nearly two weeks. I'm finally feeling healthy again and look forward to earning some APs but my man decided to come for a visit for a few days (yaaaaaay!!) so of course that throws my schedule way out of wack. I'm not complaining though.

I'll write a better post tomorrow, I promise. And I'm so sorry I've been slacking on the blogging and commenting!! I read a bunch last week while I was sick but wasn't so good at leaving comments. Oh well - life happens :)

The best part of being sick...

is all the crazy weight you lose!! I'm seeing numbers on the scale that I wouldn't have expected to see for at least a month. Of course once I'm finally able to hold down more fluid and actually eat something, the number will go up but I'm sure getting a kick out of seeing numbers in the two-teens. And my feet! I think I've lost weight in my feet. Is that crazy? They just look... well, more bony. LOL.. can't wait to start feeling better and being able to go workout - it's been over a week!

Healthy You Check In

Not a whole lot to update this week as I was out of town from last Thursday until last night (had an amazing time with my boy though!!) and I seem to have developed a lovely flu in the last 24 hours. Not fun!! So, I missed my weekly weigh in yesterday and this morning the scale showed me down at 219 but I am so dehydrated that I'm sure that's not all that accurate. I think I'll just wait until next Monday to record an official weight. And pray that this horrible bug passes quickly!!

Final update on May goals:
1- At the beginning of April I set the goal of losing 10 lbs by Mother's Day. I did it, actually 10.8/10
2- Run 5K on Mother's Day without stopping. Did it!
3- Lose 5 lbs by May 21 (that's the day I'm going to see M) I ended up at 5.8/5!!
4- Lose 8 lbs by June 2. Since I don't have an official weight this week, I'm not 100% positive how this went.. but seeing as I was at 7.8/8 last week, I'm going to call it a success.
5- Get 1200 minutes of cardio this month. 877 UGH not so good! I've missed several workouts this month but I can say that although my minutes aren't quite up to par, the intensity of my workouts has definitely improved.
6- Run 3 times a week. Only twice last week.. seems to be a bad pattern

New Goals for June:
1- Lose 8lbs by June 30
2- Get 1000 cardio minutes
3- Try again for 3 runs a week

That's all I can think of for now... hope you all have a great week!

Healthy You Check In

Like my new bling? I'm really quite fond of it myself :)

Things seem to be going quite well on both the exercise and eating fronts lately and finally I had a loss that shows it (3.8lbs). What can I say? Love does a body good! ;)

Now that I'm down 40 lbs, the compliments have been rolling in from people around me and while they are of course lovely to hear, I still find myself doubting what they are saying. Yes, I do feel MUCH better than I did 40 lbs heavier. But when I look in the mirror, I really don't see the difference. Ugh! I had read in other blogs about people feeling this way but I never thought it would happen to me. I mean yes, I feel that my thighs and butt are way more firm and I've really just noticed the last few weeks how my tummy feels smaller. But I look in the mirror and what I see is still very unappealing. And it doesn't seem to look any different than it did 5 months ago. But it must!! I don't know why our minds do this to us but it's making me understand (just a little bit) how the mind of an anorexic works. If I went by how I saw myself in the mirror, do you think I'd ever think I was thin enough or firm enough? I really don't know. My clothes tell me I'm smaller, my measurements tell me I'm smaller, my scale tells me I'm lighter... so why don't I see it? I think maybe it's time to do another full length pic of myself to compare to my first one. I've been dreading doing that but I think it's time.

On another note, here's the last update on my May goals:
1- At the beginning of April I set the goal of losing 10 lbs by Mother's Day. I did it, actually 10.8/10
2- Run 5K on Mother's Day without stopping. Did it!
3- Lose 5 lbs by May 21 (that's the day I'm going to see M) I ended up at 5.8/5!!
4- Lose 8 lbs by June 2. 7.8/8
5- Get 1200 minutes of cardio this month. 817 so far.. not quite sure if I'm going to reach this one. I'm out of town starting Thursday and only have one workout left before I go.
6- Run 3 times a week. Only twice last week.. missed Thursday's run because I was out of town

Weigh in #20 & Measurements

Wow.. it's hard to believe that 20 weeks have gone by already and that I've stuck to it the majority of that time. Well, I finally saw a decent loss this week. In fact, it's quite an awesome loss if I do say so myself LOL. I'm down 3.8 lbs, which takes me over the 40lbs gone mark. Can't wait for my new bling tomorrow! The thing is, I barely tracked my food intake this last week. But I know that I didn't over-do it and I really did watch what I ate. And I also can recognize that I really didn't do much boredom eating and snacking, which is what usually kills me. It was a busy week! This week is another busy one as I'm getting ready to take the girls up north to M's house. We are leaving on Thursday and not coming back until next Monday. This means I probably won't be super great at tracking my food again but it should also mean that once again I'm too busy for the boredom munchies. Hopefully I can report a good loss again next week!

It's also been 4 weeks since my last measurements so here we go...

4 weeks ago:
231 lbs
41" waist
45.5" hips
44.25" bust

Today:
223.2 lbs
39" waist (woohoooooooooo!!!!!)
45" hips
43"bust

Total difference this month: 3.75" and 7.8lbs
Total difference since the start: 22" and 40.4lbs

The craziest thing is that 12 of those inches have come off my waist. That is a crazy thought!! I can only imagine how much healthier my body now is compared to 4.5 short months ago. I'm SO glad I made the decision to start upon this journey and made THIS the year to make the change.

Shiny happy people...

Can you tell I'm a happy girl today? LOL Just LOOK! A little closer.... SEE what M gave me yesterday????? Well, that, amongst many other things would explain the happy (yes, that's crazy goofy happy, not psycho scary freaky) look on my face. (Have you ever noticed how hard it is to take a pic of yourself where you have a half normal looking expression on your face?!? but that's a whole other post LOL). I am not normally a jewellery person, but I may have to make an exception because it seems as though M has every intention of spoiling me. I'm a very lucky girl!!!!

I got back last night from my trip up to Edmonton to see M and the whole thing was just... well, bliss. There was so much makin' out that I felt like a teenager LOL. But I rationalize that by saying that the last time I dated anyone, I WAS a teenager! It was just awesome to spend time with him and just to have him hold me. Oh oh oh oh and a certain "L" word was used. He's been alluding to feeling that word for a while now but I've always hushed him and told him not to say it. I've told him that it's too soon for that, he's crazy, he's blind, etc etc. But he said it and I didn't stop him. Actually, it felt really nice to hear it. Really. Nice. I feel like I'm walking on clouds... I feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

And, to top off my happy news, I totally met my goal of losing 5 lbs by yesterday. In fact, I lost closer to 6. Hopefully it all stays off (and then some) until my official WI on Monday!

Healthy You Check In

After a less than stellar eating weekend and a minimal loss yesterday, I am seriously kicking up the activity so that I can have a hope of reaching my goal of losing 5lbs by this Thursday. After my WI yesterday, I still had 1lb to go but I did a kick arse 7km run yesterday morning plus a 30 min. brisk walk last night, and pretty much 2 hours of cardio this morning (I ran to the Y, worked out on the elliptical and w/weights and than walked home - all uphill of course). At the moment I'm feeling a little beat but once I eat I should hopefully feel better.

So.. I'm really excited. I get to see M tomorrow night!!!!! I'm driving up to Edmonton after I get the girls to bed (yep, solo) and not coming home until Thursday night. And no, it's not an overnight date LOL! My cousin happens to live quite conveniently close to M's parent's house and that's where I'll be staying. I guess technically it's only our second date but really, it's much beyond that seeing as we spend hours on the phone daily (only a slight exaggeration). If you missed it before, here's how M and I met. So this afternoon I need to go shopping to find something to wear. I did find a pair of capris on the weekend but I'd really like to find a cute skirt if I can.

Actually that talk about shopping leads me to a NSV I had this weekend. First of all, I bought 2 pairs of workout capris in get this, a size large!!!! I seriously don't ever remember buying a size large before. Granted, they run a little big but STILL, a large! Not a XXL or 2X or whatever. WOOHOO! And even cooler, my mom wore a pair and they fit her. I am finally back to the same size (well, pretty much) as my mom. Holy crap! I'm finding that I am on the borderline of being able to shop in many regular stores instead of just the plus stores, for bottoms anyways. I thought I would be thrilled about that but honestly, it's a little overwhelming. Way too many stores to look in and way too many choices. I need some serious shopping time WITHOUT 2 screaming kids in tow.

Anyhow, on to my weekly update on my monthly goals..

1- At the beginning of April I set the goal of losing 10 lbs by Mother's Day. I did it, actually 10.8/10
2- Run 5K on Mother's Day without stopping. Did it!
3- Lose 5 lbs by May 21 (that's the day I'm going to see M) I'm at 4.0/5
4- Lose 8 lbs by June 2. That's one month from today and that's on an offical WI day. 4.0/8
5- Get 1200 minutes of cardio this month. 702 so far..
6- Run 3 times a week. Only twice last week, plus one day of other cardio... umm cuz I got lazy

I can't wait to check in with all of you later today!!

Weigh In #19

I reaaaaallllly didn't want to weigh in today. I'll admit it, I've been a bad girl the last few days and have indulged in some foods that I shouldn't have. Actually, for most of last week I found it really difficult to keep my eating under control. It wasn't all "bad" foods, just too much in general. And I didn't get in an extra run this weekend like I'd been planning either. By the time I had the chance to do it on Saturday, it was 33 degrees (Celsius) and waaaaaaay to hot.

So I think I'm down 0.2. Way better than a gain! My scale was being just plain cruel to me though as when I first weighed myself prior to my shower, it was telling me 222.6, three times in a row! I KNEW there was no way that was accurate. By the time I was done my shower and did my hair, I had somehow magically "gained" and was back up at 227. LOL Same floor, same spot, same foot position. I'm going with the higher number, just to be safe. As much as I'd LOVE to claim the lower number as that would take me over the awesome 40lb mark, I'd just be setting myself up for disapointment for the rest of the week when the scale is more normal.

As far as activity goes, I've had a hard time just DOING IT. My mom literally had to push me out the door this morning to go for my run (and I'm SO thankful she did). I knew I just had to get going and would be good once I did. It was the most beautiful weather for running so while pushing baby K in the jogging stroller, we ran for a total of 6.94 km! My pace is slow and steady .. we ran for 56 minutes. I feel so much better now!

A little bummed..

Today has been a little crappy. I had been hoping to enter into a dental assisting program in August but just found out the program is completely full with a mile long waiting list. The student advisor said I should still apply and get on the list and I may get in during the February intake. So why didn't I find this out earlier? The course calendar said that registration for the program didn't begin until three months prior to the program start date (which has not yet passed). The program is already full because these are the people that have been on the waitlist for last February's intake. OMG!!!! So... I'm feeling very discouraged. I'm so sick of waiting... I just want to get on with life!

Oh, and my 83 year old Grandma got into a car accident last night. Nothing serious (thank god!!) but it was her fault and now dealing with all of that is pretty stressful. In all honesty, she probably shouldn't be driving anyways...

So.. food-wise I didn't do so hot. Too much snacky type stuff, not enough healthy meal type stuff. But tomorrow is a new day.. I'll start it out with a workout at the Y, get my pedicure and make sure I eat better.

Healthy You Check In

As I sit here typing this, I'm still sweaty and recovering this morning's run but all I could think about while I was running was getting back and posting here that

I ran 6K this morning!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I'm a little proud of myself. I may not be very fast (it took me about 46 minutes) but I did it. It was just such a beautiful morning outside that I decided not to make my typical trip to the Y, where I've been struggling to stay motivated to run on the gerbil wheel most of us call the treadmill. The 6K really flew by this morning so I've decided that it may be a good idea to mix up my routine and perhaps run outside 2X per week and workout at the Y with other cardio and weights 2X per week. We'll see how that goes.

Anyways, for my run today and for my 5K run on Sunday, I'm awarding myself this shiny new bling:


(Thank you Diana for the awesome new buttons you made!!)

And, due to my loss of 2.2 lbs this week, I get more new bling:



My mantra this month has been "Motivated in May" and it seems to be working!!

1- At the beginning of April I set the goal of losing 10 lbs by Mother's Day. I did it!! Actually I lost 10.8 lbs!
2- Run 5K on Mother's Day without stopping. Done!!
3- Lose 5 lbs by May 21 (that's the day I'm going to see M) I'm at 3.8/5
4- Lose 8 lbs by June 2. That's one month from today and that's on an offical WI day. 3.8/8
5- Get 1200 minutes of cardio this month. 427 so far..
6- Run 3 times a week. Done!!

I look forward to checking in with everyone today!!

Mother's Day Run Update and WI #18

I meant to get on here last night to give my little update about the run but I couldn't find my USB cable to get the pics from my camera. Anyways, first things first. The run was incredible!!!!! Even though I had had an awful sleep the night before (I was waking up every 10-15 minutes, afraid I would sleep in), I woke up and was totally pumped! Baby K and I headed downtown by 8am and my mom and T were going to find their way to a spot along the race route to cheer us on. Baby K and I were a team... she rode along in the jogging stroller and loved every second of it.

I would say that the waiting before the race began was the worst/best part. There were over 13,000 of us down there and becaue I had a stroller, I had to be at the back of the pack (although I did manage to get my way in front of all the people walking). As we waited.... and waited... I felt like such an idiot. The whole realization of what I was doing was overwhelming. I was going to run a REAL 5K! Me?!?! I wasn't worried about the run itself as I've run 5K several times now the last few weeks but the emotions and the excitement of actually being there and doing it was almost too much for me to handle. While the crowd around me was laughing and happy, I was making my feable attempts at holding back the tears. Yes, I was going to do it. I made a goal and I was now prepared to kick it's ass. Part of me also felt a little sad that I was doing it alone (well, except for baby K). I had been trying to get some of my family members to do it with me, but to no avail. Everyone just thought I was crazy. *sigh* Maybe next year.

Anyways.. here we are, inching our way to the start line.. the gun had already gone off at this point and we are almost there!


Here's what I saw when I looked straight up! We were lucky to have perfect running weather!


And looking straight down... hehe notice the bottle - it kept her occupied the entire run!


The run itself was great. The first 10 minutes or so kinda sucked, as the first 10 minutes of any run sucks (for me anyways) and I was trying to get out of the crowds and get by people so I was running faster than my regular pace. But I got into my groove eventually and the run literally flew by! When I was approaching the finish line, I could not believe we were already done!

Here we are right after.


And me and my girls once we finally met up again.


And the best news is that I'm not sore today!! No actually, I have more good news. I'm down 2.2lbs!! Which means that I reached my goal of losing 10 lbs by Mother's Day. So for now, I'm definitely sticking with the Wendie plan. It seems to be working!

Counting down to the big 5K

And I'm so excited!! I went and picked up my race package this morning at the Fitness Fair, which is making it seem so very real. I never in my life would have imagined myself actually doing something like this!!! Even back a few months ago when I first thought of the idea of running this race, I was saying rather jokingly. But I am ready and very excited!!

And just about exciting as all that, I got new running shoes!! The Tech Shop had a bunch of stuff there and I managed to find a great pair of Mizuno runners for more than half price. Never could I imagine paying over $150 for shoes but $80 seemed reasonable, especially since I use them so much now. Hurray!

Anyways, so far the Wendie plan seems to be going well. I ate a few more points yesterday than I was supposed to but I'm okay with that. I may be over by a few today too... but I'll try not to be. The most important thing that I see happening with me doing this is that I am actually tracking EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth. The good, the bad and the really bad. And that my friends, is a victory in and of itself because up until now, I was only semi-tracking... meaning if I ate a bunch of bad stuff, I didn't even bother to try and track it. And peeking at the scale shows me that it's paying off. I'm not sure if my WI last Monday was a fluke or what but by the next day, I was back up 2lbs.. and for the last couple days I've been back down to what I WI at on Monday, and even a little lower. I'm hoping to show a loss of at least 1lb (hopefully 1.4 so I can meet my goal!!) by Monday.

Anywho, I hope all you mommy's out there get truly spoiled tomorrow!! Enjoy your day and give your family some extra hugs (unless they forget all about Mother's Day - then you can tell them off LOL). I just feel so grateful right now for my health, my family, my new man, my new shoes... ahhhh life is good :)

Going to try Wendi...

As I mentioned a few days ago, I thought I might try to mix things up a bit with the Wendie plan.The plan says that you can will shake up your weight loss by not consuming the same amount of points each day but instead following something like this: low, high, low, very high, very low, high and medium high. So, my week will look like this:

Monday: 30 points
Tuesday: 34 points
Wednesday: 29
Thursday: 44
Friday: 28
Saturday: 34
Sunday: 32

Basically you just take your daily points allowance and multiply it by 7, then add your 35 flex points. For me it was 28X7+35=231. I'll see how this goes.. I may have to play with those numbers a little bit to figure out what works best. Basically, I'm just hoping this does something!! I feel like I've been stuck around 230-231lbs forever (well maybe a month anyways). Yes, I did WI with a loss on Monday down to 229.4 but was back up yesterday and today (yes, I weigh myself daily). And there is no reason for me to be up this week at all as I've been 100% OP. So when I get all these kind and glowing comments about how great I'm doing, I don't really feel like it. I feel like a fraud! But in all actuality, I shouldn't just be focused on the scale and the numbers but should spend more time acknowledging the improved health and fitness that I'm experiencing.

On that note, I'm my abs are SORE today! After my workout yesterday I did about 100 different kinds of crunches on the ball. At the time I felt fine and even wondered if I was doing something wrong because I just wasn't feeling it but today, I'm hurting. But it's a good hurt :)

Healthy You Check In

Today is going to be a quickie check in as I'm rushing off to go along with T's preschool class on a field trip.

I had a great workout this morning... I ran 5k in 35:10. My previous quickest time was 35:38 so I'm thinking that was pretty good. With the Mother's Day run less than a week away, my ultimate time goal for it would be anything under 35 min but I've been told that it's not a race you can run very fast at...too many people. So my goal will just be (and has always been) to run the full course - no walking.

Anyways, here's a recap of my May goals. (Woohoo! Motivated in May - my mantra for the month)

1- At the beginning of April I set the goal of losing 10 lbs by Mother's Day. Right now I am at 8.6/10.
2- Run 5K on Mother's Day without stopping.
3- Lose 5 lbs by May 21 (that's the day I'm going to see M) I'm at 1.6/5
4- Lose 8 lbs by June 2. That's one month from today and that's on an offical WI day. 1.6/8
5- Get 1200 minutes of cardio this month. 210 so far..
6- Run 3 times a week. Done!!

That's all for now.. I'm planning on checking out everyone's blogs this evening! Can't wait to see how you all are doing!

Weigh In #17

Very very pleased today...I weighed in with a loss of 1.6lbs! That takes me below the 230 mark!!!! I have no idea when the last time was that I weighed in the 220s.. probably at least 8.5 years ago. So yes, I'm a happy girl today.

My weekend was busy but good.. I made decent food choices but didn't track everything. Today is a new week though and my goal is to make it through, tracking everything. I was thinking today about flex points.. and how I allow myself indulgences (without tracking most times) because "I know I have the FP for them". Mentally for me, FPs seem to be this big buffer that somehow swallow up the extra points that I eat. It's like an excuse for extra treats. I do think though, if FPs are used properly, they are great. But I'm not able to do that. So, I'm going to divide them up and use some daily. Maybe like the Wendi plan? I'm not very familiar with the Wendi method but I'll do some reading up on it and get it figured out. I just think that if they are divied up like that, I won't be able to use them as an excuse. Plus, this works in with my JOLT plan of mixing things up and staying motivated.

My workout today was cut a little short. I biked for 15 and ran for 35 - almost didn't make it though because towards the end, these awful cramps started up... and I had to run to the washroom. Sorry if thats TMI! After that, I felt terrible and decided not to do my 35 on the elliptical and went home instead. Not sure if a bit of a virus is passing through or what... but I hope it's gone soon.

Anyhow, that's all for now.. I'm enjoying blogging from my bed this afternoon as we recently installed a wireless router. I've decided that a bit of a restful afternoon is in order for me today!

I think it's back..

Don't want to jinx myself or anything but both yesterday and today I am feeling great! It really was just an "all of a sudden" thing, which leads me to believe that my lack of mojo was related to hormones. But it's strange because I still haven't gotten TOM (and no, it's completely impossible for me to be pregnant!!!). It seems as though my cycles are getting more and more irregular because I could swear that I should have had it by now. Which leads me to my first goal: keep track of monthly cycle.

So yes... it is May! I wanted badly to post yesterday but ran out of time. The good news is that I got my horrendous work project finished and submitted it.... at 12:36 am last night! If it's at all possible this month, I'm going to try not to take on too many contracts. I need to catch up on some other things this month like registering for school, finding out about financial assistance, seeing a lawyer... etc. Oh, and I'm going to visit my man in a little less than 3 weeks from now! YAY!

There are several goals that I will fail to meet this month if I do not stay on track... thus I have officially decided that the key word for the month of may is MOTIVATION. I am going to put effort into finding new things to motivate myself and I am going to stay motivated all month long. There, I wrote it down. That means it must come to pass (haha! if only it were that simple).

Now on to those goals...
1- At the beginning of April I set the goal of losing 10 lbs by Mother's Day. Right now I am at 7/10.
2- Run 5K on Mother's Day without stopping.
3- Lose 5 lbs by May 21 (that's the day I'm going to see M)
4- Lose 8 lbs by June 2. That's one month from today and that's on an offical WI day.
5- Get 1200 minutes of cardio this month.
6- Run 3 times a week.

There we go. It's all out there for everyone to see... now it's time to get my butt in action!

(Sidenote: Thank you to those who commented the last few days..I don't think I would have re-found my motivation without your help!!!)

Trying to find my motivation

I'm feeling a little better today compard to yesterday. Yesterday was just... bad. But talking to my man last night really helped (he's so great!). He told me not to be so hard on myself and to just take a little break if that's what I feel like I need to do, try and get in some extra naps and just relax a little bit. I need to listen to my body... and today I did just that.

T and I had some one on one mommy/daughter planned this morning and we snuggled on the couch together and watched Alice in Wonderland. I fell asleep about 15 minutes into it for a good hour or so. Then she'd be asking to go to Swiss Chalet for a few weeks now so I took her there for lunch. They have some great healthy choices there, one of which I ordered... but I did eat a few of her french fries and a couple bites of her sundae. I took her to school and did an hour or so of work and then had another glorious nap. It felt so good to just lay in my bed! The kids are both in bed already and I think that even though I have a bunch of work to do, I will go to bed early and get in a good nights sleep. Tomorrow is a new day and the work will still be here.

As far as my motivation... well, it's still not back 100%. Cammy commented that I need a JOLT to get me going again, and that is probably very true. I've accomplished the feat of running the (what I thought) illusive 5K.. and now the high is gone. How sad is that? I was reading back through some of my older blog entries and I was just oozing motivation and drive. I really hope I can get it back. So anyhow, how do I JOLT myself? And please, don't just tell me to take a new aerobics class or something because that's really not my thing.

Here's what I did today to try and start the JOLT process:

- Cleaned out my closet. I took out everything that is now too big. I have a large laundry basket stacked high and overflowing and it feels great! Now to figure out what to do with it all... if anyone is in need of some transition clothes in 18/20/22, seriously let me know!
- Bought two new tops, both in size 1X!! I've never bought that size... ever!
- Downloaded a bunch of new tunes to liven up my stale playlist

Here are some ideas I've been playing with to continue the process:

- Make some appointments with a trainer.. maybe once a week?
- Considering switching to Core
- Considering doing some sort of a cleanse
- ??????

This is where I need the help of ya'll :) Any ideas for me?

Healthy You Check In

Do you ever just feel down.. for no good reason really? That's me right now. I just want to curl up in my bed and sleep for a few days and then maybe I'd feel better. Nothing particularly bad is going on right now... just the usual stresses of kids (with an extra dose of 4 year old drama added in there right now - she's driving me NUTS!!), work, etc. I also feeling like I'm getting sick and have an on again off again sore throat. I just feel crappy. So, I'm not sure if this is making it harder for me to get back on track food-wise or if I am feeling crappy because I haven't been doing so hot with my program. But overall, I wish I could just snap out of it! I made great plans to get back on program yesterday as I wrote about but it didn't last past late afternoon. I just wanted to eat everything in sight!! This morning I almost didn't go work out either. I haven't missed a workout in forever so you know this is bad. But I went... didn't run today though, just did 35 min on the elliptical. I'm so scared that I'm not going to be able to get back on program! I wish I could JUST DO IT but it's not feeling quite that simple.

Blah.

Anyhow, sorry for the whining and complaining. I'm hoping to have the chance later on today to read a bunch of your blogs and find some motivation.

Here's the update on my goals for April:

• Hit 10% goal by April 7 DONE!
  
• Lose 10 pounds by Mother's Day (May 11) 7.0/10 I'm 1lb further from this than last week
  
• Get in 3 C25K workouts each week Not doing C25K anymore but I ran 5K 4 times last week!
  
• Do 1100 minutes of cardio Finished that today - I'm at 1105
  

Weigh In #16

It was no suprise to me that I had a gain today. The last week was pure craving hell, then was the birthday party Friday night, leftover cake.. yadda yadda. But whatever.. I'm not too upset about it and I'm prepared to move on and have great results next time. I just got home from the grocery store where I purchased tons of good food and I've planned my meals for the next few days (and I never do that). One of my goals for this week is to eat more salad and other veggies so those are definetly in the plans.

On another note, I earned 39 APs last week and I've been consistently running 5K in my last three workouts (followed by 35 minutes on the elliptical). I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll be able to run the entire 5K course on the Mother's Day run coming up. And if I can do it in less than 36 minutes, I'll be thrilled.

Anyways, it's measurement day for me here.. it's always fun to see how much my body has changed in the last 4 weeks.

4 weeks ago
238 lbs
43.5" waist
46" hips
45" bust

today
231 lbs
41" waist
45.5" hips
44.25" bust

Total difference this month: 4.25"
Total difference since start: 18.25"

I have now officially lost 10" from my waist!!! Amazing!!

What's on your Ipod?

Stealing this from Hanlie.. but it looks like so much fun!

The rules are simple: Hit the shuffle on your iPod (or in my case my MP3’s random selection), then answer each question by hitting next. No cheating!

Q: What does next year have in store for you?
A: Fighter - Christina Aguilera I hope not!

Q: What does your love life look like next year?
A: Saturday Night - Whigfield

Q: What do you say when life gets hard?
A: This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race - Fall Out Boy

Q: Song that reminds you of good times?
A: Tell Me What Your Sippin On - Britney Spears Ha, that's works

Q: What do you think when you get up in the morning?
A: Move Your Body - Eiffel65

Q: What song will you dance to at your wedding (or silver wedding anniversary?)
A: Sweetest Girl - Wyclief Jean

Q: Song that reminds you of your first kiss?
A: Rehab - Amy Winehouse (sooo laughing out loud right now!)

Q: Your favourite saying?
A: Stronger - Kanye West

Q: Favourite place?
A: Give it To Me - Justin Timberlake

Q: Most missed memory?
A: Umbrella - Rihanna

Q: What song describes your best friend?
A: Break the Ice - Britney Spears

Q: What song decribes your ex?
A: See You Again - Mylie Cyrus (sheesh, I hope not!!)

Q: Where would you go on an important date?
A: It's Not Over - Chris Daughtry

Q: Drug of choice?
A: Back to Black - Amy Winehouse

Q: What song describes yourself?
A: Never Too Late - Three Days Grace

Q: What is the thing you like doing most?
A: She's So Sorry - Hedley

Q: The song that best describes the President?
A: Shut Up and Drive - Rihanna

Q: Where will you be in 10 years?
A: Over You- Chris Daughtry

Q: Your love life right now?
A: Pocket Full of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield

Q: What is your state of mind like at the moment?
A: Slow Motion - Third Eye Blind (yeah, that's about right - it's so past my bedtime!!)

Q: How will you die?
A: Garden Grove - Sublime

Give me sugar!!!

I'm craving sugar and sweets reallllly badly this week. It's not been good at all. I'm thinking TOM is to blame... and honestly, I hope it just shows up sooner than later so I can get out of this phase! The good thing is that the only sweet foods that I have in the house are rice krispie squares (2 points each) and Fiber One bars (2 points each). Oh, and pudding. So, my points have been under control for the most part and I'm getting all of my fruits and veggies in but sheeeeeesh! I feel like I could just eat and eat. Go away munchies!!!

On another note, it's my mom's birthday on Friday and I am planning the party. Does anyone have some low point dessert recipes that are delicious? I also want to make a dip for the fruit... I know there is a yummy low-cal one made with I think yogurt and....... something else. Cool whip maybe? Does this ring a bell with anyone? I can use all the help I can get because if there aren't decent low point options, I have a feeling that with the sweet tooth I have this week that I could really blow it. Thank you!!

Healthy You Check In

Woo! I love Tuesdays and giving a little update and taking the time to check in on all of you!

Not a whole heck of a lot to report here.. I had a loss this week, (-1.0lb) but it wasn't quite as much as I was hoping for. I was feeling extremely munchy yesterday and I have a feeling that TOM is around the corner. I really should keep better track of when it's expected to arrive but I've never been good at that. I really can't wait until next Monday when I should finally be out of the 230s!

When I posted the other day about M being overweight, I've gotten a few comments about being in a relationship with an overweight man. I agree with what Hanlie said in that when she was with a fat guy, she got fat too... and this happened to me also with my ex (who was not super fat but overweight and out of shape). I have never been thin but I was in awesome shape when I first met my ex. I still weighed approx. 200lbs but I had just finished a summer working as a landscaper so I was buff! LOL I think I put on at least 20-30 lbs that first year (and so did he!).. and well, it just went from there. I would never want that to happen again! I've worked too hard and still have a long ways to go and can't get back into those old habits. But that said, I've always been attracted to bigger guys.. probably because they made me feel small and safe and secure. M is probably bigger than I would normally be attracted to... but his personality is awesome. Anyways... can you tell this whole issue has been spinning around in my head the last few days?

Here's an update on my goals:

• Hit 10% goal by April 7 DONE!
  
• Lose 10 pounds by Mother's Day (May 11) 8.0/10
  
• Get in 3 C25K workouts each week Not doing C25K anymore.. I ran twice last week and then my knee was sore so I did BOSU instead
  
• Do 1100 minutes of cardio I'm at 850 right now so I should make it!
  

I can't wait until next week to do measurements!! Have a good week everyone!!

Weigh in #15

It's that time again... and I'm down 1.0 lbs today. I was hoping to be below 230 today (seems like I've been in the 230s forever!!) but I'll have to settle for 230.0. Oh well... I did pretty well last week but made a few choices over the weekend that could have been better. But a loss is a loss and I'm good with that.

Happily the knee pain that I was complaining about last week seems to be okay at the moment. It was sore at times during my run this morning but there is no long lasting pain afterwards so hopefully it's okay. My elbow.. that's another story. I have a feeling it's tendonitis or maybe carpel tunnel because it mostly hurts when I move my fingers or when I try and straighten my arm all the way. And it is on the arm of the hand that I use my mouse with... not that I'm a doctor and know anything. I think I'll make a Dr appointment to have it checked out in the next few days if it doesn't ease up. I'm just glad it doesn't interfere with running!!

Anyways, that's all for today. Check out the post below for details on the big date!!

Date Update

I know you guys have all been on pins and needles waiting for this update LOL :)

Well, we got an enormous amount of snow (yes, SNOW) the last few days so I was extremely worried about the drive I had to make Saturday morning to meet M. I started out.. got about 30 minutes away and then decided NO WAY can I make this drive. I was passing car after car in the ditch and while I felt like I could probably make it to Drumheller, I was more worried about the drive home later that night. So, I called M and he offered to come all the way to Calgary (cuz he's sweet like that). We met at the mall and we had lunch and just hung out... I had the little ones with me (because remember, we were originally supposed to go to the Dinosaur museum). Things were very comfortable, just like they had been on the phone. After a while, we brought the little ones back home so my mom could babysit. Yep, he even met both of my parents already. We went to a late afternoon movie and dinner afterwards. Honestly, it was a great day... and I think that things worked out for the best with the changing of plans. There was some really nice hand holding, cuddling at the movie and quite a few little kisses snuck in there. It was really... well, nice.

So how do I feel now? Well, this is something that I feel really badly even to admit. He was a little heavier in person than in the pics that I had seen of him. That's really not the end of the world because obviously I have weight to lose as well. His style was well... lacking, but again, not a huge deal because he knows he has no style LOL and it's nothing a few shopping trips couldn't fix. And really, how often is it that you find someone who's personality so completely meshes with yours? We have so many things in common that it's almost freaky. Our beliefs and values are very much alligned.

In the truck just before he dropped me off at home, he asked me if I was his girlfriend. I kind of giggled when he asked because it sounded a little junior high school-ish but sweet at the same time. I said yes.

I used to be so attracted to the "bad" boy. M is definitely so not. He is so "good" that I've found myself questioning if he is for real. I'm feeling a little bit of an internal struggle within myself.... actually I dumped my first boyfriend (who was also a "good" boy) because he was too nice. Why would I possibly want to be with someone who was not nice? I don't know... and I realize that I'm jumping a little ahead of myself and should just be taking this one thing at a time and seeing what happens. M has made it very clear that what he's looking for is for a good woman to marry, basically just to love and look after. He wants a couple kids, the minivan, the camping family vacations, the picket fence... you get the picture. That's what I want too... at some point.

(I wrote all of the above last night and am finishing this Monday morning)

To be truthful, I really don't know how I feel at the moment. Nice is good... but I want more than that. I'm feeling a little shallow because what if he had been 50 lbs thinner? Would I feel differently then? I just don't know. And, I guess I don't really need to know right now. We'll see what happens.

My aching legs.. sorry, I'm whining

I had this brilliant idea a few days ago that I should start doing exercises in the kitchen while I am waiting for the microwave, toaster, kids to eat, etc. Mostly I've been doing squats, with the odd set of pushups or plank in there. And today, it caught up to me! My legs are killing me!! But in a good way, of course.

What's not hurting in a good way is my knee and my elbow. My knee started hurting at the tail-end of my run on Tuesday. I thought it would be okay by today so I started my run... and 90 seconds into it, I stopped. I am really scared that I will hurt it really badly and it will force me to stop running for a long period of time. So, I upped the incline and walked for my 20 minutes that I had before my BOSU class. Really hoping it's fine again by Monday!

Speaking of my BOSU class - what fun!! For those of you that don't know what it is, you use once of these:



It really works your core and is fun and bouncy at the same time (LOL). I think I will try and add this class into my Thursday workout routine.

Anyways, BIG DATE countdown... just TWO more sleeps!!!!! *insert giddy laugh here* So far it looks like I'll be safe regarding the snow and driving... I'm making cookies for my boy tomorrow... hopefully I can keep my fingers out of the cookie dough!

Rebellion

For whatever reason, I feel a little rebellious today. I've been working hard all week both diet and exercise-wise and this morning when I weighed myself, I was the same as I was on Monday. WTH? Okay, the logical part of my brain knows this is silly - it's only been two days afterall. And this is not my usual pattern, especially if I have been eating well, which I have. Actually, I didn't even eat all of my points the last two days.... maybe that is the problem? So we had a lot of running around to do.. the kids check ups at the Drs... picking up our Easter portraits... getting T ready for school and swimming... so, we ate lunch at the mall. This mall doesn't have a Subway, so I gave in and ate a gyro from my favourite greek place (Opa! for all you locals). I was okay with that... figured I'd eat a light dinner and everything would be fine. But by dinner time, I was exhausted and not in the mood to cook. And of course the family wasn't either.. dad brought in Chinese and my brother ordered pizza! Thanks alot guys. So for dinner I ate two dumplings and a few pieces of ginger beef and half a slice on pizza. I can already feel my stomach complaining. Yuck. But whatever... it's one day and I really didn't overdo it. But I can't help but think that if the scale would have shown a loss this morning that I would have made better choices. Now how does that make any sense?? All I can say now is bring on the water!!!

Healthy You Check In

I think I have spring fever! Warmer temperatures (though I heard we are supposed to get snow this coming weekend BOOOO) and a little bit of love in the air are making me feel super energized and happy. I just really really really hope that we don't get too much snow or at least that the rain/snow doesn't make the road conditions too dangerous for me to go on my date on Saturday! It's a 1.5 hour drive to where we are meeting so will you all do me a favour and keep your fingers crossed that the weather report will change??? Thanks :)

Well, I just got home from another 31 minute run. 31 minutes you may ask? Yes, 31 minutes LOL. You are allowed max 30 minutes on the cardio machines at the Y and I sort of squeak in the 5 minute cool down as well and the first minute of the cool down is still at a running speed (albeit a much slower pace). So yes, 31 minutes running followed by 35 minutes on the elliptical. My knee was hurting for the first 10 or so minutes of my run (maybe I need new shoes?) but seemed to go away. And I improved my distance today - 2.62 miles (up from 2.54 yesterday). All in all, a great workout and a whopping 10 AP.

Now here's a question for all of you other WWers out there. How important is it to eat your APs? I rarely do. And if I eat any of them, it's only about 1-2. Being that a typical workout for me is now 10 APs, should I be eating more? Or should I just wait and see how my losses go? As you can see over on the right hand column where my losses and APs are, there really is no correlation between the two numbers. What to do, what to do...

Regarding my goals for this month:

• Hit 10% goal by April 7 DONE!
  
• Lose 10 pounds by Mother's Day (May 11) 7.0/10
  
• Get in 3 C25K workouts each week Not doing C25K anymore.. but I got 4 runs in last week and will get at least 3 this week
  
• Do 1100 minutes of cardio I'm at 629 right now and seeing as its the 15th today, I'm right on track (even a bit ahead woohoo)

Now, last but not least, I was tagged by Natasha!

Rules of the game:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs
5. leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged

So here's my seven random things:

1. I used to be disgustingly flexible. I could do the splits all three ways and hold my leg straight up and and literally kiss my shin.
   
2. I almost died when I had my first daughter. Of course I didn't know this until two weeks later and the doctor so kindly informed me. I knew my blood pressure had spiked but I didn't actually realize how serious it was.
3. I first got married when I was 20. Yah, ummm bad choice.
4. I used to have an ebay store. I sold mostly new and used kids and women's clothing. When the Canadian dollar started matching the US dollar, I closed up shop. It just wasn't worth it anymore.
5. I was in French immersion in both junior high and high school. Oui, je parle francais. (but not very well anymore)
6. I once met some real satanists. We went to their house on the Sunshine Coast. They had all kinds of weird art on the walls of human sacrifices and other disgusting images. It was incredibly scary and I just wanted the heck out of there.
7. I once stayed at a hippy commune near Nelson, BC. It was actually sort of cool and everyone was very kind... but all of their vegetarian, organic food was not my cup of tea.
   

So there ya go! As you can tell, I've been on quite a few adventures in my life LOL. But haven't we all?

I am going to tag....

Erin
Hanlie
Selma
Heather
Manuela
Briy
Patti

If some of you have already been tagged, sorry! Pass it along! :)

Weigh in #14

Well, I'm certainly not as excited this WI as I was last time but considering my huge loss last week (5.6lbs), it's only realistic to expect a smaller loss. This week I am down 1.4 lbs. I was hoping to be out of the 230s... but then again, yesterday had some bad eating choices so I should just be happy at 231 for this week. But next week, I'd better be out of the 230s!!

You know, I really don't struggle with cravings. I am strictly a creature of convenience and the times I get into trouble with eating for the most part are when I don't eat a proper meal, then get stuck or desperately hungry and just eat whatever is quick or whatever is right there. And unfortunately, because I live with my parents and two younger brothers, there is frequently a fair bit of not so good food sitting out on the counter. Yesterday it was a box of deliciously delectible chocolate fudge brownies from M&Ms. OMG so good! But I'm paying for it today.. my mouth gets all sore when I eat foods like that with a lot of sugar in them. I have a big sore on the inside of my cheek today.

But anyways, the weekend wasn't all that bad. The weather (as you other Albertans know) was absolutely beautiful!! On Saturday morning, I threw baby K in the jogging stroller and headed out for a run around the neighbourhood. My entire route was about 5.24 km and I ran about 4km of that. I walked twice - once threw a really muddy section and again up a huge hill. All in all, very happy with that. My neighbourhood is very hill so it's next to impossible to find a route that wouldn't have at least one huge hill in it. I'm really trying to work on cutting the walking time out of my runs because I want to run the Mother's Day 5K from start to finish with no walking. So today I ran 31 minutes straight on the treadmill. I've always been curious to see exactly what distance that would equal and today, at my slow speed, it was 2.54 miles (or 4.09 km). So next, I'll be working on really increasing my speed.

I guess I've sort of quit doing the C25K program. Technically I'd be in week 7 today, which is 25 minute runs... but considering that I'm already doing what week 9 requires (at least time-wise), I think I'll just stop and do my own thing. But what a great program!! I never could have done it without the guidance the program provides and without the awesome C25K podcasts. If you haven't started it yet and you think you could never do it, try it. I really think you'll surprise yourself.

On the dating front... things are still very good. Only five more sleeps until our big date :) I never thought it was possible to have as much in common with a person... and to miss a person that I've never met. Is that crazy? Still need to figure out what I'm going to wear!!! I'm so so so so excited!!!