Thursday, September 30, 2010

Not as bad as I thought

The rest of yesterday went well cold wise and I felt pretty good today. The coughing started to surface towards the end of the day mostly when I was on the phone...of course.

I stepped on the scale yesterday before bed and the number wasn't bad at all. This surprised me as I've tracked nothing over the past few weeks especially not when I was feeling yucky.

Workouts will resume when my breathing is better. I did stop off at the grocery store to pick up a bottle of distilled water for the steam function of my soon to be functioning dryer. I walked home carrying a 4L jug. That felt o.k. I can definitely add in more walking over the next few days.

I will weigh in this Saturday to get back into the WW pattern and get my weight loss mojo on. Operation LBD has had a far too long hiatus.

Haven't heard from the LG guy yet so I'm very much hoping to do proper laundry this weekend.

The other day I discovered that Bloglines was coming to an end. I was not prepared for that. I have used that rss aggregate to keep track of all my blogs. Now I had to find another.

I uploaded all my links into Google Reader. It's alright. I find it very busy but I'm starting to figure out how to make it work for me. First I had to clear out 500 posts from the people I follow on blogspot that I also followed on bloglines.

Alright now you're up to speed on me.

Hope you all had an amazing Thursday.

Hugs!!!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Are you kidding me?

13 hours of sleep is the best medicine. I feel more human today, still stuffed up but far less nose blowing. I'm thinking I'll be back to normal tomorrow.

My LG service guy came and it turns out at some point between this dryer being built and delivered to my house two tiny pieces of plastic (about the size of a cap of a sharpie pen not the marker) broke off. These tiny pieces are part of the front panel and hold the butttons in place.

The service guy needs to order a new front panel to fix the issue. He feels sorry for me and says he can get it by end of day Thursday and will install it Friday afternoon so I don't need to take a whole day off to facilitate this.

I think my dryer drama could be turned into a soap opera.

I have not stepped on a scale in a week. I'll do that tomorrow.

Today I was craving spicy. When all my other senses are muted I tend to lean toward the spicy. I had ground turkey in the fridge so I whipped up quick turkey burgers for lunch.

I think one more nap is in order. I can't wait to get back into weight loss mode.

Hope your Wednesday is fabulous.

Hugs!!!

Being sick sucks

Before I left for site I was telling you how I was trying to beat a cold and truly felt I was on the mend. I was wrong.

I had a rough Sunday night but thought I'm o.k I can go to work. So I got on the plane on Monday and I forgot how fun it is to fly with a head cold as my ears popped on the flight. At one point I was thinking wow this flight is quiet then my ears unpopped.

I just felt progressively worse over Monday into today. Of course I didn't pack enough kleenex and ran out fast. I had to result to grabbing a roll of toilet paper from my camp room. The toilet paper at camp isn't exactly Charmin soft.

I hate being sick away from home. You miss all your creature comforts like soft kleenex and the ability to go home and to bed. I was counting down the hours to the plane home from the moment I got to my desk this morning. I was trying to act like all was good and the minute I was alone in my office my head would be resting on the desk. I was sort of trapped until I could get home so I was trying to put on a brave face.

I got home around 5pm and went straight to bed which is why I'm up now and typing. I'm heading back to bed shortly. My food choices are exactly stellar when I'm not feeling well.

It's a bit of blessing that I had to take tomorrow today off for the LG service people as it gives me the opportunity to rest as well so I'm more myself by Thursday.

They opened a new part of the camp while I was away and I saw the new kitchen. It's really nice. The new gym isn't open yet but people who have seen it tell me it's pretty awesome. I'm hoping it's open next week and that I can breathe through my nose by then. I did pack workout gear this time but that just wasn't an option when feeling like crap.

I hope you are all healthy and had a great past few days.

Hugs!!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Murphy's Law

I went out with some of co-workers Friday night and I honestly can't remember the last time I went out as in not after work but after you got home.

I did have to speed clean my house before we were supposed to meet up at 8:30. I vacuumed, steamed floors, dusted and did dishes in record time.

At the bar we were asked to show I.D. It's a long time since I've been carded as well. The bouncer guy looks at my birthdate on my driver's license and says "You're holding up well". I looked at him and said "Am I old enough to be your mother?". He says he was born in 1977, I was born in 1972. I'm a whopping 5 years older than he is and I'm holding up well. I'll take that as a good thing.

Then at the table some of the coworkers brought a couple of friends. At one point one of the friends (a woman) was bemoaning that she was the oldest person there. I asked her how old she was and she says 34. So I tell her that I'm older than her at 38. She then tells me she thought I was 26. My renewed efforts at skin care must be working.

I lasted till about midnight and had to go home. I can't stay up like I did when I was 26 that's for sure.

Yesterday was all about the arrvial of the new washer and dryer.

I got a call at 10am telling me my washer was coming but not the dryer. What!!!!!!. I asked what happened to the dryer. The sales guy (not my regular sales guy as he was apparently home sick) tells me it's not in stock. How is that possible I ask when you called me last Saturday to tell me it was here. At which point I turned into super bitch vowing to tell everyone I know to never shop there. He then tells me it's LG's fault. I point out again that his store called me last Saturday to say the washer and dryer were here.  He'll look into it and he'll call me back.

I got another call about 10min later from the delivery dept telling me that my delivery will arrive between 11-3. I asked them what was in the truck. I then tell them about my previous conversation with sales dude and they do confirm the only thing on the truck is the washer. She felt sorry for me and my 10 weeks without the ability to do proper laundry and said she'll track it down.

I then get a call about 10min after from sales dude telling me we I will receive a dryer that day. The washer and dryer will be coming in two different trucks. At this point I don't care I just want these things. I apologized for being super bitch.

Then about 10min after that delivery dept phones and says they'll be there in 45min.

The funny part is the dryer arrived first and just as they were loading the old one into their truck the second truck arrived with the washer. I didn't realize these two boys strap themselves to the applicance and carry it there was no use of any type of dolly. I tell the one boy (the all looked under 18) it's best to take it in via the back door. He then asks me which way is shorter. I looked at him and said my way would mean one set of stairs.

The second crew arrives with 3 boys  and there was some negotation about who was taking what old appliance and deals were hatched between the two crews.

There was one worrysome moment when the gas pipe on the back of the old dryer looked like it might not want to exit the house but all was well.

After they were done my Dad and I positioned the washer where it's supposed to be and had to do a little confirguration as the discharge hose on the new washer is a wee shorter than the old one.

Dad then had a nap and I called the gasfitter. He was there within 30min and hooked up the dryer with no issues at all. He then turned the dryer on and the on button got stuck. We both looked at it for about 10min plus compared it to the washer on button and both went Huh? You'll have to call for service he tells me.

Here I was thinking the dryer drama was over. So I call the store's service dept and was on hold for 8min then they hung up on me. So I called back and get a person, I am then told I need to call LG as they like to handle all services for the first year.

So I call LG and have to go through the whole story of buying it in July and it was delivered today. They tell me they can send someone out on Tuesday. I ask what time on Tuesday. Oh it's anywere between 8-5. Well Tuesday I'll be in Northern Alberta can we make it Wednesday. I then ask if it could maybe be Friday. If it's Friday I'd have to call back on Wednesday to book the appointment. Screw it lets go with Wednesday.

So now I have to take Wednesday off to wait for the LG service guy.

I'm now focusing all my positive thoughts on having a working dryer on Wednesday.

Surprisingly I have not drowned my frustration in a pint of haagen daz.

Add to this I had a sore throat on Friday (I tried dousing it in multiple vodka/sodas Friday night) but immediately started a regime of anything immune strengthening i.e. Vit C. The sneezing and coughing started on Saturday so I went straight to the Buckley's. All in all symptoms are mini and I feel off but not horrible. I want to beat it today as I go back to site on Monday and don't want to give it to anyone else.

Today will be taking it easy.

I hope you guys had a drama free Saturday.

Hugs!!!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Where does the time go

I can't believe I haven't posted since Tuesday.

I've just been busy. I continuously have loads of work to do. Yesterday one of the groups I support invited me to their team building which involved food and drinks.

Tonight another group has invited me along for a well earned end of the week drink.

Not exactly getting the scale to move in the right direction.

I have to hang out at home tomorrow and wait for Trail Appliances to phone and tell me when my new washer and dryer are coming. I have two gasfitters on stand by. One who might be able to come on Saturday but doesn't work Sundays and one willing to come on Sunday if need be.

Of course this pretty much means I can't go to weigh in unless they call before I have to leave which is unlikely. That will mean next Saturday I either give them 3 coupons or pay the sign up fee we'll see what's cheaper.

I ran into a co-worker on my way out of work who has WW coupons to give me. She's pregnant so obviously not going to use them so she's just going to give them to me. How awesome is that.

I return to site on Monday so I'll have to get back into the routine of early Monday flights. I've missed it, well I've missed the people. I love the group I support.

Alright my friends I hope you had a fabulous last few days. Operation Little Black Dress is not abandoned, after tonight it's game on as I've got to get this show on the road.

Hugs!!!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Inspiration in the strangest places and my 1000th post

Number 1000, how crazy is that. I started this blog back in the day as I discovered I like typing my weight loss diary and general thoughts on average things. Who knew 1000 posts later I would have so many sources of inspiration from fellow bloggers and so many virtual friends. One of these days I need to get myself to a blogger conference of some type to meet some of you face to face.

Day 2 of the conference went quickly. I will admit my food behaviour has not been fabulous at this thing. That all ends tomorrow or rather tonight.

We had a guest speaker today and while I found it a bit like a rehashed positive thinking spin. There were two spots where I had a bit of an aha moment and it was in regards to weight loss.

The first thing: Whatever you focus on you'll get more of
The second thing: We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence, therefore is not an act it's a habit - Goethe

Now I've heard these things before but in my head I replaced Excellence with Focus. Behaviour is a habit.

I think to times where I was 100% on board with the WW plan and positivity bred positivity. When I lost focus and started to go into a bit of a negative frame of mind i.e. "I'm useless at this", guess what the results went in the not successful direction as well.

You get what you put in. If I don't put the effort and energy in I won't see results. So what's stopping me, well it's me. I am my own worst enemy and that's just silly.

So my weight loss attitude is focused on the positive and that focus is on creating behaviours and habits. I will address the negativity that creeps up and squash it.

How handy this all lines up with the season premiere of Biggest Loser. Why I do find the whole product placement aspect of this show highly irritating, I do find it inspirational. I guess this season has a lot of people with emotional/ mental blocks when it comes to weight loss. I remember watching Ally (the woman who lost her entire family including new baby in a car accident) and thinking my goodness if she can find the strength to deal with that and focus on changing her behaviours what the heck is stopping me.

Hopefully this season is inspirational.

So don't give up my friends we are strong!

Hugs!!!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Things I learned at day one of the conference

A clip from "The Office" is the best safety moment ever

Green Tea Panacotta has an odd colour and serving it with pears and pomegranet coulis don't make it look any better.

Whole wheat pasta mixed with sauce left out on a buffet turns into a solid mass.

When a conference has 95% women make sure the toilet paper is well stocked.

I'm semi decent at video game driving games

I'm pretty good at mini golf

I'm not so good at vitual golf

I suck at pool

On to day two.....

Hugs!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Are you serious?

I did sleep through weigh in today but I'm completely good with that as I needed it. I woke up feeling myself  and no signs of under the weatherness.

I walked to the library to exchange books and popped into Walmart for some necessities. I didn't really go grocery shopping as I'll be in a conference for two days next week and have a full pantry.

I got a call that my washer and dryer have arrived. I'm sure you've read about the saga of my new washer and dryer that I've been waiting 10 weeks for. So my reaction on the phone was "Are you serious?". I don't think I've waited this long for a purchased good ever. Of course they offer to deliver today but that didn't work as I needed to be downtown for hair appointment. So it's now scheduled for next Saturday.

The minute that thing is installed and working I'm going to be crazy laundry woman.

Just because I didn't weigh in today does not mean an excuse to be off plan. I'm being super focused this weekend partly because of the conference as well. I'm dealing with all unknowns as the conference so any flexpoints will be saved for then in case needed. I earned 2AP with my walk to and from the library today.

I went down early for my hair appointment so I could check out Winner's and road the mall. In 2hrs I bought nothing. Absolutely nothing appealed to me. I find the some of the current trends like long sweaters difficult to pull off being short and short waisted.

Not sure what I'll do for activity tomorrow but I have a few things in mind.

Hope you all had a fabulous Saturday.

Hugs!!!

Friday, September 17, 2010

15 hour day

Oy vey, so we did our 3 hour dry run of training and it was a bit of a gong show and then I made the decision to finish my to do list no matter how long it took. Well it was about 4pm before I had the chance to actual sit at my desk and fire off projects that have been waiting.

Well it took a 15 hour day and there's one thing left that can wait till Monday.

Woke up this morning feeling a little off, I wouldn't call it under the weather but more pre-under the weather. I'm making an executive decision to sleep in tomorrow. I'm playing russian roulette with weigh in, if I miss it I'm declaring a mental/physical health day.

This week has been crazy and a wee disorganized with plans thrown out the window thank goodness it's over. My only workout of the week was on Monday, food has been out of necessity and I just need to chill for a minute.

Getting my haircut tomorrow, yeah as I feel a bit like a shaggy dog - well not that I know how a shaggy dog feels like. I'm going to head down a little early to check out Winner's. My co-workers keep showing up with cute things from there.



Hope your Friday was great.

Hugs!!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Whirlwind

My mind is racing a mile a minute with all the work I have to do. I'm super busy as work is bordering on a little crazy. Just when I think I have it following a plan a wrench gets tossed in. Not unmangeable just makes me have to re-jig the processes I have in place.

Add to that feeling tired and it's results in counting down the hours to the weekend. I'm trying to focus on getting a decent amount of sleep to avoid my body making me rest which usually happens by being sick.

Last night I woke up at 1am thinking about a work issue and then realized there was nothing I could do about then so just go back to sleep.

Tomorrow I get to particpate in a dry run 3 hour training course where I was asked to be a trainer. I'm flattered they think I'm some sort of expert but I've learned everything pretty much on my own. I just went throught the final slide presentation that was emailed at just before 5pm and see mistakes and inaccuracies. Fantastic as I get to present that part.

Blogging might suffer a wee bit as I now have to read a 113pg training manual that just got finished today.

I'm keeping up on reading what you guys are up to and regulary scheduled blogging will be back once I get over this little hurdle of crazy busy.

Hugs!!!!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Face mist weather

This morning when I left for work it wasn't quite raining but it was misting. An umbrella was useless as it was drifting sideways but it was kind of pleasant.

The weather is definitely shifting as I can feel my skin starting to get a bit dryer and on the way out of work going to the bus I wished I had mittens with me.

Many years ago I worked for The Body Shop and I probably had the best skin care habits while I worked there. I took great care of my face, body, hands and elbows. After I left there those habits slid a bit and it became more about convenience. Face care was no longer 3 steps but more of a face wipe and moisturizer. Hand cream became less frequent as my hands would slide on the keyboard. Today I was putting hand cream on my elbows as they were definitely dry.

Over the past month or so I've gone back to my fabulous take a few extra minutes skin care habits, like cleanse (with a proper cleanser that removes make-up), tone (with an alcohol free toner to ensure all dirt/cleanser is off and to prep skin for moisturizer) and moisturize (with an SPF moisturizer during the day and a night moisturizer before bed) and it's amazing how a little extra care can have an impact. I have no dry spots, hardly any breakouts and my skin feels like butter. I'm not spending a load of money either. I do love Clinique's Repair Ware Laser Focus, that's probably the most expensive thing I use. Since I've been using it I do see a difference in my skin. My cleanser is Kiehl's it's over $20 but you need a drop literally and it lasts forever plus takes off make up. My moisturizers are Aveeno from Walmart. I was using a Nivea toner but ran out and Walmart didn't have it so I picked up an Aveeno as well.

I'm going to fight ageing every step of the way and I think that early stint at The Body Shop helped as I'm pushing 40 and most people guess that I'm in late 20s.

It's also pretty handy to pay attention to skin care in a dry climate like Calgary as you definitely need to shift your routine as it gets drier in Winter.

On the weight loss front it was tough today as cramps tend to make me snack and curse being female. Workout plans went out the window. My major activity was taking out the garbage today and I had an altercation with some cookies from Ikea. My own fault, I shouldn't have bought the cookies. I worked later today and was fairly tired when I got home.

I did write my altercation down in my tracker and the mission is to track where it went wrong, learn from it and move on.

Tomorrow I'm fairly busy which is good because I won't have time to snack.

With 3 days till weigh in I need to reign in the focus and I can do that.

Hope you had a super groovy Tuesday.

Hugs!!!

Monday, September 13, 2010

This takes work

I have now tracked for 3 days in a row which is fabulous as it's been a few weeks since I've done that. I stuck to my eating plan for most of the day until I hit dinner.

I knew what I was having for breakfast, snacks and lunch but when I got home from the gym I drew a blank. I didn't plan dinner. That wasn't smart as I was fairly hungry when I got home and it turned into a buffet - one turkey bite, a small bowl of cereal, fruit to go fun bites etc. All in all not horrible on the points but dang it I thought I'd really have it together today.

I did hit the gym after work for 60min on the treadmill burning 338 calories in total.

So to avoid my lack of dinner inspiration I just made a pot of quinoa. I figure I can grab some of that and add a little something and ta da dinner. I didn't know that quinoa is a complete protein, I learned that at WW the other day. I can combine with some veggies and have a fairly complete meal.

I think I'll come home for tomorrow's workout and do a step dvd. I can't do the treadmill to many days in a row or I bore myself to tears.

Hope you had an amazing Monday.

Hugs!!!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

It's Alive...mwhahaha

I made bread today. Well the bread machine made bread and I assembled the ingredients. I do love to bake but I generally avoid bread as it's a long process by hand. It's not exaclty fast in the machine but I didn't have to remember to knead or let it rest it did that. I made a walnut raisin bread and it was the first time I have ever used whole wheat flour. This recipe also included rye flour. It's a very hearty bread that's for sure and I think it will help me solve my morning snack issues.

I eat breakfast fairly early on a weekday and by 8:30am my stomach is grumbling which quite often leads to eating something stupid like a muffin otherwise known as cake. Tomorrow one piece of this is coming to work as my morning snack it works out to 2pts per slice when I ran it through recipe builder.

I then got caught up on all the reading to complete my first written assignment for the course I've been avoiding. I need to really get my act together in this area I have until Nov 30th to complete the course and I can ask for a 2 month extension but I don't want to. I'm going to get'er done.

Of course now I have no desire to make veggie lasagna for tomorrow but I will.

On the exercise front today it will be yoga. The gym bag will go to the work gym tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be rather irratic this week so I'm planning an indoor workout tomorrow and Tuesday. It's not supposed to rain on Wednesday but we'll see.

I did some clothes purging and have a good pile to donate on Tuesday. I also re-discovered some clothes in my closet that used to be either too small or a wee bit too tight. This means I don't really need to go shopping right now which is great as it gives me more time to plan. With 30lbs to go till goal there will a few sizes in between.

I hope you all had a fantastic Sunday.

Hugs!!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Swedish for common sense

Up 1.2 today, I'm o.k with that. Last week I never tracked and while behaviour wasn't horrible it could of been more in line plus good old water retention played a part - I can feel it.

Now the hard work starts so I'm committed to tracking, exercise and following the healthy guidelines - including positive self talk so the gain today is done and I'm on to a new week.

Went grocery shopping today and picked up an aray of veggies and fruit plus lean protein. I'm going to make a vegetable turkey lasagna for work lunch.  My noodles will be sliced eggplant and zucchini.

Later in the afternoon I met up with my friend P and we went to Ikea. I needed new cutting boards and some of the frozen potato pancakes. I also left with napkins and mortar and pestle (always wanted one of these) and I love their coffee.

At one point I was thinking of an old campaign for Ikea where they used the tag line for "Ikea - Swedish for common sense" and then I started thinking about all this weight loss stuff. I realized I just need to keep it simple. Follow the plan, track and exercise. It's not rocket science I just need to take it one day at a time.

After Ikea we stopped in Michael's were I picked up some cake stuff so I'm ready for Christmas. Yes, my mind is already drifting to Christmas. I was not on the ball with my Christmas baking last year and I like to do that for my work mates. When I was in Walmart this morning the seasonal section is now wall to wall halloween candy. Of course after that's done the Christmas stuff will come out.

Crazy torrential rain pushed back the agenda today so I'm trying to get some stuff crossed off my list tonight so tomorrow isn't crazy. I will create a workout plan for the week tomorrow.

Hope your Saturday was fun.

Hugs,

Friday, September 10, 2010

Fresh Start

I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow's weigh in, not because I expect a good result. In fact I'm not sure what I'll see as the dreaded TOM is exerting it's influence. It doesn't matter, I accept whatever number shows up. What I'm really looking forward to is a fresh start and getting back into a routine.

The focus is now on my friends. Tonight I make my shopping list for tomorrow and when I get home from weigh in I start the clothing purge. I have a fair amount to accomplish this weekend including clothing purge, meal prep for next week, laundry, clean the house and homework. The good thing is that all adds to my fresh start as well.

Now the focus is goal and absolutely nothing is going to stop me.

Hugs!!!

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Happy Accidents

Yesterday I told you about the new scent I bought...well thought I bought. I unwrapped it last night from the white tissue, opened the box and realized I had "Stella" in my hands. I like Stella but my intent was to buy "Stella Nude". So I took it with me to work intending to exchange it. This morning I put on the sample Stella Nude eau de toilette.

It didn't last long at all and it wasn't like the one I tried in Vegas. I went to the Bay after work with the intent to exchange the Stella for the Stella Nude eau de parfum only to discover it doesn't come in an eau de parfum...well not in Canada anyway. The American Sephora's have it and Sephora has it online but won't ship it to Canada so my guess is isn't released here yet. I decided to keep Stella as the bottle I have is pretty much empty and I like it as well.

I also swung by Cleo's after work to find new jeans as all my current pairs are too big. Sizing is whacked in the head. I tried on 3 pairs of jeans all the same size. I couldn't get the first pair past my thighs, yet the other two pairs were no issue. I bought one pair.  I also tried on this argyle cardigan I've had my eye on but it's a little too long for my body type. Something hit me in that dressing room though, I'm looking at my reflection in the dressing room mirror and I noticed my waist is smaller. I've been getting a lot compliments lately and while flattered I didn't get it. Today I got it.

As I was reading my bloglines today I notice a lot of people talking about regaining focus and determination. Do you ever notice a trend that a good chunk of us seem to following a similar wave of focused vs. unfocused? I was thinking about my difficulty to get focused and I realized I need to make a 100% commitment and believe I can succeed. Oh sure I can talk a good talk but it's the walking the talk that takes a little work.

The other day I got a call from a community clothing donation drive and it couldn't come at a better time. This weekend I'm going to try on all my clothes and donate what doesn't fit that's still in good shape and toss the past it's day and not at it's best. I would say at least 60% of my closet is too big and I am going to commit to going forward not going back. I need to cull before I can start adding new clothes. Going forward I'm not going to buy clothes I'm going to build a wardrobe.

This Saturday is also exactly 3 months to my operation little black dress goal. Goofing around is finished.

Workout wise I took today easy. My workout class experiment is being deferred to next week. I'm keeping the focus on food and I want to focus the rest of this week shaking out the excuses and finding my mojo. I'm going to start with re-reading "The End to Overeating". The first time I read it was more to blitz through it. This time it's to truly absorb it.

Hope you had a fabulous Thurday.

Hugs!!!

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Too much fun

Today when I got home from work I found the new bread maker on my steps. I'm sort of excited to try this out. I'm super happy I didn't need to pick it up from the post office as the box is huge.

On the way home I stopped by the book store and got a book on juicing and a bread maker recipe book.

I got "The Juicing Bible" by Pat Crocker. It got good reviews and I like how she addresses different health issues (fatigue, Alzheimer's and impotence just to name a few) and what fruits and veggies would be beneficial. I thought I'd make a beet/ carrot/ apple juice tonight but I had to swing by the grocery store first. The beets were not looking good at all so instead it turned out into a apple/ carrot/ orange juice. I did brave the self checkout with non scannable items as the store was busy and it wasn't so bad.

This is what the end result looked like.
The juicer is super easy to clean which is totally awesome.

I got a Sunbeam bread maker with my airmiles.  I got the "300 Best Canadian Bread Machine recipes" book for this. My one disappointment no NI info but the pickings were slim. It's got a variety of recipes so that's neat but I do want to focus on healthier bread so I'll keep my out for an additional recipe book. I think I'll try this out this weekend as the weather is supposed to still be blechy. It rained all day today.

A basket of Purdy's chocolate arrived on our floor from one of our suppliers and that combined with blechy weather...well let's just say I didn't say no.

I did walk home from the grocery store with my books, fruit/veg and a bottle of "Stella Nude" eau de parfum.  




I fell in love with this in Vegas but didn't buy it there. I had spritzed some on my wrist and a woman came up to me to tell me I smelled fabulous. The notes in this are moroccan rose, grapefruit, peony, pink pepper, vanilla and amber. I think this will be my fall/ winter fragrance. In the summer I like things a little more on the citrus side.

I was walking through the Bay and they had it. The sales lady gave me a free gift and mini samples as well. I was hauling a lot of stuff on that walk home.

Thanks to mega errands after work I decided to not go to Zumba. I need to rethink the 6:30pm workout classes that might be a wee late for my schedule. I get up fairly early for work and like to try to be in bed by 9pm to get a decent number of hours of sleep. I get home just before 8pm when I do classes at this time and that didn't work so well for me yesterday and I was super zonked today. I'll need to try the 5:15pm classes instead.

Alright so stay tuned for adventures in bread making towards the weekend.

Hope your Wednesday was super fly.

Hugs!!!

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

What a day

Today was my super crazy ridiculous day. I had back to back meetings from 9am to 4pm but it was a good day as well.

I tracked today - it's been two weeks since I've done that.
I went to Step and Pump today - even though the forecast of rain almost held me back.

I'm iffy on the Step and Pump class. It was the beginner - intermediate class and I found the step choreography sketchy (spinning on top of the step in a beginner class?). The pump part was very short but I know I'll feel it tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll go to this one again as I like my Kathy Smith Step dvd much better.

I walked to the gym and back netting me 819 calories burned today which is also kind of awesome. I was prepared to take the bus if it was raining but it wasn't so I walked.

The best part of my day is I got home from work and the Breville Juicer was on my doorstep. Of course my first instinct was juice whatever I could get my hands on but I was committed to the gym. Tomorrow on the way home from work I'll pick up a juicing recipe book so I don't make horrible combination.

Tomorrow's workout will be brought to you by Zumba...

Hugs!!!

Monday, September 06, 2010

Now this is good

I think this is the best turkey meatloaf I have ever made. In it went extra lean ground turkey, 3/4 cups finely diced onions, 3/4 cup finely diced orange pepper and 3 diced gloves of garlic. I sauteed the onion, pepper and garlic in a non stick frying pan first just to soften it up.

To the turkey I added one pack of onion soup mix, freshly ground pepper and a smidgen of chipotle chili power and about a 1/4 cup of egg white. I then added the cooked onion/pepper/ garlic. Mixed well and formed into a loaf and then wrapped it in 6 slices of prosciutto. Baked at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I cut off a bit of the end to taste when it came out and it blew my socks off. The seasoning is perfect, the meatloaf is moist and the prosciutto is crispy. I ran it through WW recipe builder and for 8 slices it's 2pts each. I found the 8 slices a wee small so I packaged into 5ths so that takes the pts to about 3.  Plus I baked on a broiler pan so I squeezed a little bit of the remaining fat out of it.

The mega walk is completed:
1hr/ 6.84K/342 calories burned/ Pace 8:47-8:13/ HR 135-148

I had originally planned on going a little longer but decided against it. Today was about knocking the cobwebs off the muscles.

I wrote my workout schedule on the calendar but that might yet be tweaked. I picked a bunch of classes starting at 6:30pm then realized I could probably make the 5:15pm classes. Now I have the option of either time depending on my schedule.

The school work was sacrificed for work work as I got a huge dent into something that will clear up time for the week which is a good thing.

My work lunch is packed and I'm going to lay out my workout clothes so I have no excuses when I get home tomorrow.

Hope the remainder of your holiday Monday was fantastic.

Hugs!!!

I'm back, focused and meet my siblings

Hi All,

I managed to do a quick read of all the blogs on my bloglines and see a recurring them of re-dedication. I'm in that boat myself. I wonder if it has to do with a new season.


I wanted to first introduce you to the cats (aka my siblings) I talked about when I got home from Dad's in the summer. This is Fred. This picture is his personality. He's vocal and really outgoing. He is my little buddy, well not so little anymore as he and Spook definitely grew over the past few months. Fred comes to me immediately and purrs like crazy when I pet him.


This is Spook, he's a bit more reserved and not so into being petted. On Saturday he actually let me pet him and he purred as well. I was so honoured to have gained his trust for now anyway. He definitely takes after Papa Miao, who I think is totally a wild cat and avoids us.







This is Mamma Miao, she is always at a discreet distance keeping an eye on the kids but when she seees the food bowl come out she's the first one at the door. She and Fred are almost identical with the exception that Fred has a little brown patch on his nose and just white on his feet.

At one point I was washing the patio door windows and I thought for sure they'd clear off the deck while I did this. I was wrong. Mamma Miao was supervising from a distance. Spook was close but not too close. Fred was winding between my legs and chasing the paper towel.

I was so happy they remembered me, well maybe not that far. They remembered that I could access the food.

Food at Dad's was so-so. As I've explained before it's not like there's gobs of treats but it's often not what I usually eat. He tends to lean towards more protein and I lean to more vegetables. I enjoyed the visit especially because I won't be back until Christmas. I was in Walmart yesterday and Halloween stuff is out. Christmas will be here before we realize.

So now Operation Little Black Dress goes into full effect. Gym is closed today so I'll be heading outside for a mega walk and then I'm going to write the classes I want to try this week on my kitchen calendar. I'll give myself a star when completed. I'll post a photo of that later.

I'm taking a salad for lunch tomorrow. I realize I can't plan my work lunches too far in advance as by the third day I'm bored. Today I plan to make a turkey meatloaf wrapped in prosciutto. I have a pack of prosciutto that I planned to use for something else but that didn't happen so now I need to use it. We'll see how that turns out with photos to follow.

I also need to get cracking on this Labour Relations class I signed up for. I'm not a fan of open ended assignments as I like due dates. I want to get a rough copy down of the next assignment.

My plan to do some work while I was away was thwarted by my email being full so I couldn't send any messages. I'm going to try to fix that today so there's one less thing to do tomorrow.

I hope you are all enjoying the last day of the long weekend.

I'll most likely be back later.

Hugs!!

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Burning the candle at both ends

I was in a wee panic today and the volume of stuff I had to do in order to leave tomorrow at 2pm with a good conscious. Amazingly enough it came together. I'll have to take work with me to Dad's but that's o.k. As it's a long weekend perhaps people will be too busy enjoying it to bother...one can always hope.

My group took part in the Big Bike today which benefits the Heart and Stroke Foundation, imagine about 20 people pedalling a giant bike. I could barely reach the pedals which made my butt incredibly uncomfortable for the 20min ride but hey it's for a good cause.

I've decided not to weigh in tomorrow as I'd prefer to keep with my Saturday routine. So I'll miss this week which is fine.

I can't believe I now have 80 followers, that's amazing. Hello to number 80!

The fact that people get something out of my mindless drivel amazes me. Trust me people I plan to inspire.
When I get back on Sunday Operation Little Black Dress is going into full gear. The last two weeks have been sketchy due to work but having the next 3 weeks at home can help me get back into an established routine.

Last night I bought a few things online, well I bought one thing - a juicer. I've been thinking about that for awhile and as I try to get my fruits and veggies in by eating I'm not getting anywhere close to what you're supposed to have. I want to juice. I got a Breville which has amazing reviews.

The other thing I got was a bread maker and for this I used my airmiles. I want to take more control of my food and that includes making my own bread and being able to add more benefitial things without paying $5 a loaf.

Coming soon adventures in juicing and bread making.

All right the house is straightened and the bag is mostly packed. I'm off to Dad's tomorrow and I'll be back on Sunday.

I hope you all have an amazing Labour/ Labor Day weekend and I look forward to reading what you've all been up to.

Hugs!!!!