Blip

Got home last night and my thoughts were consumed by pizza, however I made the spaghetti squash just as I said I would.

I then had a snack pack pudding (planned) and copious amounts of whip cream (not planned)from the can. Had I stopped at the pudding all would be good. Well actually it's still could I still had flex points to cover the damage of the whip cream. What I find interesting is pin pointing the reasons for going astray. It could have been related to not getting the job but honestly I'm not sad about that as something could happen in the future. Perhaps it was due to mid week.

I picked up the whip cream when I stopped at Mac's to pick up milk, at the time I thought it was a sign. Yeah right...

I'm not beating myself up about it as I said it's still within the plan. From now until Friday I have 5 flexpoints left and have so far earned 15 activity points. Not a shabby week no matter how I look at it. My crowning glory is this is snackapalooza week. I've kept it together. Go me!

Maybe snackapalooza made me get the whip cream....

I heard today that the new Biggest Loser starts Sept. 16 and will feature families. Teams will be two people from a family and must be over 18 yrs of age. I kind of miss the two team format they started with.

Slice (Canadian channel) is airing the first season of Biggest Loser and I stumbled across it the other day. Remember when it came out? There was much brouhaha about it being a money fueled weightloss contest but look at what it's become. There's all versions of Biggest Loser themed contests everywhere.

I really think they should do a Biggest Loser Canada. Every other country seems to have one. Maybe we could get Bob and Jillian like Australia did. I can dream...

Alright my friends, that's it for today.

Hugs!

So far so good...

Update: Heard from giant oil and gas company. They offered me a position in Fort McMurray. I had to say no, however they said the only reason they weren't offering me a position here was because do to recent re-shifitng they have no openings. They said I was on their list and would let me know of future positions. I hope they mean it.

In the meantime I'm in the lead in the nominations for our Employee Committee. Craziness.

The mysteries of the human body. I've started weighing myself every morning to track patterns (not obsessing about the number) and I find it perplexing how I apparently lost 2lbs in one day. It's normal to fluctuate throughout the day, I just find it funny. It's that strange formula you must find between food and exercise. Too much of either and the body doesn't necessarily respond how you want.

Yoga was good yesterday. My knees were cursing a little, not hurting just sort of saying "What the heck are you doing to us?". We sat in pidgeon pose for a long time. I don't have anything against pidgeon pose but when one dwells there for awhile it's a not so natural positon to be in.
I'm feeling it a little today.

My instructor asked for suggestion for next week and no one said a word. I'm not sure what to suggest a pose or a session focused on something. I might suggest a series of poses that would be a good whole body stretch especially after boot camp starts.

Did I tell you I went to Subway for lunch yesterday? I was very focused on not leading myself astray and have concluded the only semi points friendly place to eat at in my closest food court is Subway. I have to admit I was not so fond of Subway. When I worked in a mall, I ate there a lot and suffered Subway burn out. There wasn't a lot of selection then so it got boring. I find the toasting process improves my reaction to the sub. It's kind of sort of not version of grilled cheese.

Today I will have the ham sub again on the new bread that says it has 4g of fibre (9 grain something) and my daring choice today...sweet onion sauce.

Tonight I'll make the spaghetti squash that's lurking in my fridge which will probably take care of Thursday and Friday lunch as well. I plan to add some turkey/chicken bratwurst (2pts for 3/4 of a sausage -don't get me started on why they'd calculate the ni on 3/4 of a sausage), tomatoes, capers, a few black olives and some red onion, bit of olive olive, japanese rice vinegar and salt/pepper. I shall report back tomorrow on if that works out.

I'm going to pop in a yoga dvd tonight. I found that I slept like a baby last night and I think it had something to do with the yoga.

Alright off to focus on the day- Hugs!

Back to basics

Hello, hello,
My internet has be down at home and I've been crazy at work so apologies for not posting for awhile.

Let me go back to weigh in. I was up 4lbs. Yikes, but that's what happens when you throw caution to the mind and it showed me just how easy it is to slide into old habits if you don't think about it. I was handing over 3 coupons and my lovely meeting leader gave me one back. She said it would be cheaper to re-register but I didn't want to stand in line again.

I have successfully tracked 3 days in a row and day 4 is already written in my tracker. Have earned 11AP so far, I think I'm on the right track.

Mini update: I just said no to ice cream and I find I drink more water if it's with a straw...who knew.

My internet issues were finally solved yesterday with Telus sending out a tech. Telus sent me a new modem because they did system upgrades effective July 21st. Well from that day one it didn't work. They tried to tell me it had something to do with the line from the adsl jack to the computer. One said it was too long and another said it was the wrong type. So the tech plugs in his modem and I do have a connection. I ask him to test the modem Telus sent...aha that modem didn't work whatsoever. So blah on Telus for sending me a crappy modem.

Tonight I'm going to get a longer ethernet cable so the modem can sit closer to the adsl jack which apparently improves speed. They also were surprised to find I had no filters on the phone jacks. They asked if my internet ever cut out when the phone rang, I answered with never. So they gave me these filters and I attached them to all the phone jacks. But you know what the filter causes static on the phone line. So I took the filter off of the main line I use and we'll see what happens.

Haven't heard anything from giant oil and gas company. I am waiting patiently...most of the time.

I've been asked to be back up babysitter for two dogs and I said o.k yesterday but now I'm thinking I don't want to. It's a long weekend here and there are a few projects I need to do so I'm not sure I want to also keep an eye on two dogs.

Boot camp starts next week and I found someone who blogged about it. It just talks about day 1 to 15 so I'm not sure what the end results were.
Apparently the 5 fitness tests they do at the beginning and the end include push ups (I'm terrible at those), sit ups (so so at those) and a 1km jog (yikes). What I'm focusing on is how good the results will be when these do these tests on the last day.

I shall faithfully report the whole 6 weeks for your reading pleasure.

Alas I should go do stuff. Have a groovy day!

Beached whale

At least that's what I feel like. I'm feeling like I'm walking around with a whole lot of blubber. The vacation is over my friends. My willy wallyness and so-so effort has run it's course. Strangely I mean it this time. My unhappiness with my weight is in my control and no one else's.

Today is C's last day so we went to Wendy's for lunch and I said to her that I need to refocus and she said that with her gone that might be easier. Sadly she's right, it's not that I don't have will power but she's pretty good at leading me astray.

I've been avoiding the scale and I'll face my demons tomorrow morning at WI. Starting a week from now I'll have guaranteed exercise for 4 days out of the week with boot camp and yoga, but I'm going to get started with that a little sooner. Hopefully 7 weeks will set a habit. I actually picked up some inspirational smiley face stickers yesterday that say things like good effort and way to go. They shall go on to the calendar for everyday I exercise.

At Walmart last night I bought two different anti itch sticks, an anibacterial cream and hydro-cortison cream for my strange patch of redness on my thigh. Well the swelling is gone and the redness is easing plus it's not itchy. I think the hydro-cortison cream worked the best. Note to self - create a first aid kit not a medicine cabinet full of odds and ends.

I'm now thinking I will not have an answer from giant oil company this week as I strongly suspect they have the day off today.

So my weekend is focusing on getting me healthy.

Have a great weekend my friends!

Truckin' On

I didn't wind up going to the grocery store yesterday as I met H for coffee and then a falafel after work. By the time we were done I had no desire to go to a grocery store. Tonight I absolutely must as these brownies need to be made.

When I got home yesterday I noticed a red spot on my thigh that looked raised and bigger than a mosquito bite. I noticed it when I started scratching. I have no idea what's it's from but I'm thinking it's a bite from something. The people at work think maybe a spider, that just grosses me out. I circled it with a sharpie so I can tell if it gets bigger. It doesn't appear to be getting bigger and calming down a bit. I'll pick up some Cortison cream on the way home as well.

The day before yesterday I was looking all over the house for my ww tracker, I couldn't find it and then when having coffee with H I found it in my backpack. I burst out laughing when I found it. But with 2 days to weigh in, I'm not too concerned with writing things down as I'll be treating Saturday like day one anyway.

I'm starting to think of all the things I need to do this weekend and it makes me tired. I need to write them down and then feel a sense of accomplishment as I check things off.

I need to create a workout schedule and make a date with myself to get this done. It's far too easy to hit the couch when I get home and stay there until bed time.

Still have not heard boo from giant O&G company. She said she'd get back to me this week but earlier she had said they were in process of moving somethings around so there's a chance I won't hear by this week. I'm getting to the point where I just want to know either way so I can make plans to go on with my life. I'm so hoping it's a "you're hired" answer....of course :)

Alright my friends, now I must go write job ads and try to stay awake.

Hugs!

Mysteries of life and random thoughts

At my Dad's house I had no control over what I was eating really with the exception of breakfast cereal.

Food at Dad's house consists of the following:
Breakfast - Either cereal or hard boiled eggs with toast and coffee
Lunch-Always a protein (wieners, beef or chicken) and usually a starch (pasta, rice or potatoes).
With a few veggies tossed in
3pm- Coffee time, which includes coffee and some type of pastry (donut for example)
Supper-Out of 7 days, 5 nights were Dr. Oetker frozen pizza (different types). They were on sale for $3.99 and Dad had 10 in the big freezer.

When I got back to Calgary I stood on my home scale.....the results....I was down 2lbs from before I left. I did not move a muscle the whole time I was there either. It rained daily which means mud and slippery grass in the country.

This has got me thinking that perhaps I have not been a) eating enough ,b) eating enough protein and c) eating at appropriate times.

So for the remainder of the week I'm going to do a little experiment. I'm upping my protein and making sure I have an afternoon snack. I'm not going to start eating donuts everyday but rather have a Kashi bar.

This morning I scrambled one egg with egg whites and a green onion had it with one piece of toast for breakfast. I had brought a big salad for lunch yesterday so I have left overs for lunch today, but I brought a chopped up turkey bite and some plain sunflower seeds to up the protein.

Tonight I must head to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for birthday smore brownies for work on Friday. I'll also pick up some fresh veggies and a few more protein options.

I'm starting to think a once a week grocery shop is not the greatest idea for me as I get bored. When I was in Europe I noticed that people bought a litte throughout the week. Mostly because they had tiny fridges not like the giant ones North America uses. At least this was the case at the time.

I'm a terrible food planner, I can't plan a weekly menu to save my life. I can handle a few days. So I'll try to plan a few days at a time over the next few weeks to see how it goes.

Boot camp is looming closer and I'm getting scared. I know there will be different levels of fitness and it's more a scary anticipation then afraid of the actual boot camp.

The back of my head is also thinking of giant oil company's final decision as that is also looming.

I miss naps

I'm tired of all the songs on the radio, why must they play the same ones over and over again.

I hate it when the guide on the digital cable lies and tells you the name of the show you want to record but that's not the show that's on. I wanted to record Work Out, not last 10lb boot camp.

Alright that's enough for today...peace!

Time flies...

I'm back my blogging friends.
My apologies I went off on vacation for a week and forgot to tell you.

Last Friday I had a half day and was home packing for my visit to my Dad in the country when I got a call from giant oil company (remember them?) In the first week of July my recruiter had called to say they were still interested in me. All Stampede week (the following week) I heard nada from them. On the Friday I was at home I called him to find out if anything was happening. Well while I was at home I got a phone call scheduling a second interview. I did let them know beforehand that I was away from the 14th to the 18th. Luckily they were cool with that and scheduled it for today.

It was at noon and I think it went o.k. Now it's seriously out of my hands. The Alberta hiring manager said she'd call me by the end of this week. I've lined up H for drinks if it goes south or if I get the job. She's a very good friend :)

I think they like me so now all I have to do is wait.

On the weightloss front I missed two meetings. I had planned to weigh in before vacation but torrential rain stopped me (o.k I'm a wimp) and this Saturday I got back into the city too late to make any of the meetings. So this Saturday I'll probably just pay the registration fee as opposed to surrenduring 3 coupons.

Of course I tracked nothing for two weeks and have yet to start this week. I need to get my head back into the game.

So I'm back to Blog land and looking forward to reading up on your adventures.

Hugs!!!

Note to self...

Never tell a co-worker that you'll match them drink for a drink at the corporate party...feeling a bit run over today thanks to free beer yesterday at our sister company's stampede event. It was my only Stampede event this year so I thought I'd go in whole hog.

Alas lesson learned, I'm not that bad today but not my usual self.

Alright on to other things.

Did you see the Bachelorette final? I'm surprised by her decision and feel super bad for Jason. Of course now Jason is single. He would make an awesome Bachelor and do they accept Canadian girls? He's yummy.

I'll be happy when Stampede is over, my attempts at western wear are getting really tired.

I'm donating blood on Friday as part of the corporate challenge, I guess I'm really giving a piece of myself....

Offices should install nap rooms...I need one.

Still waiting to hear from giant oil company....

Alright that's all my tired brain has to offer today.

Have a fabulous day!

The parties have started

As I came into work today (8am ish) I passed 3 pancake breakfasts. Yes my friends, Stampede is in full swing.

However after my mini foodapalooza this weekend, if I want to see a loss at the next weigh in, I have to put the brakes on. The tracker is with me and I have planned out my day and that does not include any pancakes whatsoever.

I had a fabulous weekend with fantastic friends. My friend D was in fron Ontario, so D, my friend H, her mom, her nephew T and I headed out to Kananaskis for a hike up the Heart Mtn Trail. I took fabulous pictures that I left at home so they'll be posted later.

On the way down T who is 9 and I were in the lead for quite some time. He told me about a recent death. He got a call from his Dad either that day or the day before about the passing of an Uncle ( not sure if this was a blood related Uncle or friend of the family). Apparently he passed away from throat cancer. Now I was a bit taken by surprise that T decided to talk to me about this. I was quite honoured, he must have felt comfortable with me to some extent to share this. So we walked and talked. He's a cool kid and meant for great things.

The next day H and D were running the HSBC half marathon (the race I dropped out of). Well I'm definitely taking part next year. Those two are huge inspiration and they each posted personal bests. We had a beautiful breakfast buffet at Barclays. I'm not kidding when I say the best scrambled eggs ever.

For the rest of Sunday I cleaned house and have a bit more to do but now it's in manageable chunks. Need to pick up a few groceries to finish off the week before I head out to Dad's next week.

One week in literally the middle of nowhere. I sleep really really well out there. There's something about the clean air and no noise. I'm looking forward to it.

But first I need to get through this week day by day.

Hugs!

Stampede is here....

Yes Ladies and Gents the world famous Calgary Stampede begins today with a parade down the main streets of Calgary. In fact right outside my office. I can hear the bands right now.

Overnight the population of Calgary (just over a 1 million) turn into cowboys and cowgirls. I swear 99.9% of the people I've seen today are dressed in denim. It's a 10 day party of 3 hour lunches, free booze if you get the lucrative invite to a corporate party. Free pancake breakfast every day and this is not including the actual Stampede grounds themselves.

The thing about parade day is suburbia comes downtown and it gets a little ugly. People stake out there spot on sidewalks hours before the parade starts. People are still using these sidewalks. Heaven forbid you want to cross the street because lawn chairs are everywhere. Though you just want to get past these people, they look at you like you're trying to steal there spot.

Hundreds will come into our building seeking public washrooms, it's a private building there are no public washrooms.

Every one of your traditional coffee places will have line ups of suburbans with their strollers and folded up lawn chairs and 6 children. We the employees of downtown are not used to suburbans, we see you in the mall on the weekend or around the neighbourhood but not on the street.

The parade will wrap around noon, when the last of the street cleaners pick up the horse doo doo.

Here are some approximate statistics on the parade courtesy of Calgary Stampede Parade

Number of entries: 170
Number of horses: 750
Number of floats: 40
Number of marching bands: 40
Audience on lining parade route: 350 000
Duration of main parade past a single point: 2 hours

Let the games begin.

...and another step

Giant oil company phoned today to say they hadn't forgotton about me and that they were still very interested in me. They should have a final decision by next week. Stampede hits this fair city on Friday with the Parade. They're closed, we're open. My recruiter and I then chatted about the Stampede and what one likes about it. Him the freshly made kettle corn and the mini donuts for me. Either way my waiting will be over next week.

Of course I know they were also verifying that I was still interested in the position by calling me.

My colleague went on an interview today and loved what she heard at that company, so it will be interesting to see what happens in the future. There are 4 people in my department, another colleague has gone part time to focus on her own business. So they might be down to one....

Loved the show Workout that Jackie seems like a kick ass trainer. Really enjoyed x-weighted last night too. As I watched these shows I really came to the realization that I'm not putting a whole lot of effort into my efforts. I found out today that I might be losing my boot camp buddy, makes no difference I'll see this through even if I have to go by myself.

I am also addicted to the Mole. I'm leaning towards Alex at the moment. One of these days I'll take the mole quiz and find out if I'm even close.

Alright that's all I have for today.

Later

First real day of the week

It was back to the usual schedule this morning as it is the first true work day of the week. All the regulars were on the bus this morning and all the regulars were in the office this morning.

Before leaving this morning I sat down and wrote down all the food I've consumed over the last few days...oy vey I need to get my act together. It's snackapalooza week too so diligence must be strong.

Due to the fact that I didn't get a whole lot done on the weekend I'm trying to do a few things each night so I don't feel overwhelmed this coming weekend. Laundry and organizing my closet was last night. Tonight I'm thinking dust and vacuum.

I still haven't made the turkey meatloaf as it was just too damn hot, but tonight should be cooler so I should do that.

Have any of you been watching The Batchelorette - I admit it's silly but now that we're at the end I'm really curious who she'll pick. I'm a bit surprised that Jessie has made it this far. I'm really rooting for Jason.

The Bravo series Workout premiers on Slice tonight. They're on their 3rd season in the U.S and we're starting at the beginning. It airs right after X-Weighted tonight.

X-Weighted is looking for families for the next season, they have an open call at the Talisman Centre on July 11 and 12. Check http://www.slice.ca/ for details.

Have a fab day!

Happy Canada Day

Happy 141st Birthday Canada!
To my fellow Canadians enjoy your celebrations today.

I am at work, yes we're open today. The building is locked, the air conditioning is turned off and every couple of hours the lights go out. Yeah!!!

We're not alone, I saw other office people in line at Tim Horton's this morning, it was the only coffee place open on my block downtown. Some office called in a big order for breakfast sandwiches and the Tim's employees weren't happy. There were only 2 working today.

My 3 day weekend flew by and I didn't accomplish a whole lot yesterday. I had a candidate no show for a job on Monday morning, but I managed to refill that by 8am yesterday. Mowed the lawn at 8:30 and then vegged until I had to go to the library at 1pm.

It was 30 degrees for the last two days which makes me misreable. I can't stand the heat. My favourite temperature is 20.

I've got laundry waiting for me right now, I will post that Turkey meatloaf recipe in a few days.
I should water the flower beds because it's been so hot. Oy vey it's going to be long day.

Later!