My Trip - First up Montreal

Alright so as promised here's a recap of worldwind trip to the other side of the country.

Last Sunday: Woke up at 2:30am so just stayed up until cab arrived at 4am. When I walked out of the house it had started to snow, I was going to hear about that all week.

Paid $3 for an apple and caramel sauce on Air Canada as I just had yogurt when I woke up and I was starting to get hungry. Landed in Toronto and had a little less than 25min to get to my gate for my flight to Montreal so as I jogged through terminal 1 I was silently praying my suitcase would make the same trip.

For those that don't know Canada is a bilingual country and anything ruled by the federal government requires things to be in English and French. On my way to Montreal on Air Canada I'm very used to hearing the English version of whatever their saying and then the French version. It felt like the moment we hit Quebec airspace is switched to French first and then English. That began my "My French isn't so dusty after all".

Miraculously my suitcase arrived in Montreal and then I was off to find a cab. Hopped in the cab with a female driver (I've only seen one in Calgary) and she immediately starts talking to me in French. I did pretty well and only had to flip to English for a couple of words. I told her I need to practice and she suggested watching French TV. Not a bad idea. She had asked where I was from but after we talked she was surprised I was born in Calgary.

Through the whole trip the moment I said I was from Calgary people would say " I hear it's snowing there".

The hotel was great located right on Sherbrooke so just a few blocks from St. Catharine's street which is a shopping mecca. There is store after store after store. Two different department stores that specifically to Quebec. You could buy any name brand from cheap to crazy expensive. I accidentally found the Underground City (their link of stores located at basement level that link a whack of buidings that goes on forever). I came to the realization that this is where I should come when I build my goal weight wardrobe. Montreal is amazing, for the shopping, the food and the history. It made me feel like I was in Europe, the majority of the people are very chic.

This is stained glass window that belongs to a gym, c'est chic oui?

Everyone was nice and it was crazy to hear French and English intermingled everwhere. I was totally jealous of this family I observed while waiting for the Montreal flight. This one guy was seamlessly switching from each language as he talked to his mother and his friends. I want that.

My major purchases were grammar books in French and Eat, Love, Pray (in French).I walked into a few clothes stores bought nothing because I'm not staying the size I am and I was having issues with provincial sales tax. In Alberta we pay only the GST 5%, everywhere else the add an additional PST (Provincial sales tax). My goodness there H&M was goregeous, the ones in Calgary always look like they got hit by a bus. I walked through the first floor of the La Baie, The Bay and there purse section is four times that of the Calgary downtown store (and that's not a small store). I realized I could easily live in Montreal and if I were to be transferred tomorrow I'd happily go. I don't feel that often as I normally feel "nice place to visit". I adored the girl in Chapters who looked we up by phone number so I could get the 10% discount and asked me if I needed to update my address to Montreal.

I had dinner at 3 Brasseurs, a pub style environment as many restaurants I passed looked really romantic and I was dining alone as my co-workers were flying in from Fort McMurray later that night. I also found a fantastic bakery near the hotel and had an amazing cinnamon roll.

Monday we started work and I met up with my coworkers in the hotel for breakfast. It was quite funny how my coworkers were commenting on all the things available here and not in Fort Mac. While FM has 100,000 people due to it's location (far North) it doesn't quite have the same variety as a major city. We hit the food court of the Centre Eaton for lunch and it's massive. They were super excited about Thai Express, I have one in the building next door to mine but I went along with them.

For dinner we went to Gibby's located in Old Montreal, amazing!!!!!! The food, the service, the location. The building is 200 years old and the courtyard used to be the stable. We also had amazing wine and the most amazing Creme Brulee I ever had. It was airy and mousse like. We then walked around. My one co-worker is a massive Montreal Canadien's fan so we had to go find the Bell Centre after a few wrong turns we found it.

Tuesday was another day of work, we hit Tim Horton's for breakfast and the food court once again for lunch, this time I had a crepe. The rest of the day I didn't feel so well with a stomach ache. I'm blaming the crepe, never pick the place with no line at a busy food court. The boys (my co-workers) left me in charge of dinner as they ran off for the last day of Montreal shopping and I returned to the hotel to find alca seltzer. I picked a lovely Italian restaurant about 5 min from the hotel. I had a linguine in a rose sauce that was spectacular. I could eat about half of my entree and my stomach was hurting again so I called it a early night and the boys continued to explore.

Wednesday we were leaving for Halifax. I felt 100% the next day so had a chocolate croissant (from the fabulous bakery that I bought the night before and I strolled alone Sherbrooke to take some photos. What I love about Montreal is the mix of old and new as you can see in the pictures at that start of this post. It is truly an amazing city and I can't wait to go back.

It was raining on the way to the airport and that followed us all the way to Halifax.

I definitely need to go back as a tourist to fully explore. There wasn't a ton of time to play tourist as that's the challenge with work trips.

It's so awkward attaching pictures to this thing but I'll continue with Halifax tomorrow. There I drank a lot of Alexander Keith's finest and saw some pretty big boats.

To be continued...

Hugs!!!

I'm back and adore Montreal and Halifax

My body is still on Halifax time as I got home at 6pm MST, so I'm feeling a little wiped. I took pictures, not a ton but a few so in the next few days I'll give you a recap of my trip with pictures.

Didn't follow WW at all while away but I have food stories, especially Gibby's in Montreal and the 5 Fishermen in Halifax.

Can't wait to catch up with all of you.

Hugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 26 - Test is done and now I wait

Results should be out around Dec. 3rd. Why it takes them two months to mark tests that are fed into a computer escapes me. Saw a load of people from my company there, I knew a few of them were taking one of the two tests but I was surprised at how many there were. We should get them to let us write it in a boardroom therefore no need to schlep oneself to the University of Calgary at 8am in cold damp weather.

As far as the test went, I feel o.k - have no idea which way it went so we'll wait and see. This is exactly how I felt last time so that's not so bad.

Zipped downtown to pick up a couple of things and then straight back home to straighten up and start packing. At this time tomorrow I'll be in Montreal for 2 whole hours....yippee! I needed to buy an umbrella as I could not find one in my house, of course I get home and immediately find one that I left in a purse I haven't used in awhile - of course.

Camera is charged, cell phone is charging and blackberry is up next. (I'm brining the cell as that's usually the emergency contact number I have) I'm happy I decided not to bring my work computer, one less thing to lug.

So it will be about a 3AM wake up call pour moi tomorrow and I'll pre call a cab for around 4am. It's a 6am departure. I'm a rather be early than right on time type of person. So if I have to hang out in an airport for 90min it doesn't bother me. Thank goodness I'm a pro at sleeping on planes, loads of practice from going to site every week.

Saw today that the new Holt Renfrew opens on Oct.7th, I will definitely have to check that out as it's huge and looking awfully pretty on the outside.

I'm ordering pizza for dinner so there's no dishes nor pots that need to be cleaned as I'm also planning an early night.

So I won't be blogging but I'm taking loads of pictures to share with you when I get back.

I wish you all a fabulous week and I look forward to catching up on your blogs.

Hugs!!!

Day 25 - very snacky and a disclaimer

First of all let me say that when I said that I didn't remember making a goal to lose 30lbs by Christmas, I was "gently" reminded by my co-worker/ good friend T that I had agreed to go along with this plan, in fact I high fived her. So to my good friend T I say - Happy now? :)

Do you sometimes regret letting people know about your blog? Love ya T and you are fabulous!!!

So test review had gone well today but eyes are starting to glaze over. You can't really study as it's all case studies but you practice, practice, practice. I've gone over about 140 questions. I'm feeling good about tomorrow and so far I like this format way better than Test 1. Hopefully it loves me back. I did take my business card and write CHRP behind my name as a little motivator.

The day has been very snacky as I've had my nose in a book all day with the exception of a quick trip to Walmart first thing this morning. When I would surface I would snack. I had a strange fixation on Oreos, thankfully I have none in my house. I did walk to and from Walmart -roughly 3K.

I'm getting more excited about my trip but trying to stay focused on the test, once that's done I can be as excited as I want.

One question: All you Amazing Grass fans, I've ordered their stuff but want to know how to get the drink container. I've never seen it on their site.

That's all I got for today.

So if you have the time send me positive vibes at 9am mst time.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Hugs!!

Day 24 - Sometimes it's "meh"

Woke up to "Battlefield" this morning, I can't stand that song. I'm in a "why won't they play anything new on the radio" mode today. The slow Kelly Clarkson song, the Kelly Rowland song, Halo all irritate me now because they've been played a bizillion times.

It's a strange time right now as it's all a period of adjustment. Dynamics have changed which are starting to play out and seeing people in new light will make things very interesting in times ahead. It's amazing how quickly things can change.

Remember that project I've been on that created "the summer that never was" ended today. It's the source of the change as it was the craziest 3 months of my life, at times rewarding and at times you wanted to pull your hair out. Today we all moved back to our normal jobs and while comforting it also brought on the feelings of what happens now. Things are different. I don't have a lot of time to think about it as I've got the test and my trip straight ahead. I'm curious to see what the future holds.

I'm really looking forward to this trip and I'll do my best to make it on Thursday - my Halifax friends. I do have to stay conscious that this is a work trip as I get a little distracted about the idea of exploring Montreal and Halifax. I keep getting told I'm going to have a great time and I totally believe these people.

Once I get back the learning to run happens, and with a bit more of a regular schedule coming I now feel ready to focus more on my health goals.

Taking the day off tomorrow to review, review, review for the test on Saturday. So I'll definitely post in the next few days but then after that I'll be dormant for a week and then come back with pictures I promise. That reminds me I need to charge the camera.

Alright that's all for today.

Hugs!!1

Day 22 - I'm going to do it

I'm going to do it - the half marathon in May that is. Thanks for the encouragement by the way. I just need to get this test done and do my other side of the country trip and upon my return I will start with the C25k and then build from there. I'd rather not start the C25K until I get back home just to be consistent. These are some long days on this trip. I'll bring one of the training books with me on the trip to sort a training schedule (6hr flights are good for that).

I'll share this journey, because now that I've shared this with you all I feel a bit accountable.

Today I took part in a United Way fundraiser that consisted of a 3k walk, there was also a 5k run. On the way to work I was standing at the bus stop and then realized I had left my bag of stuff (runners, workout clothes) next to the front door so I ran home grabbed it and then ran back. Oh yeah I have work to do if I'm going to run/walk this 21km. I was winded by the time I got back but it was definitely a sprint more than a run to get back in time to make the bus.

After the walk today I heard my good friend and coworker telling another coworker that she and I are trying to lose 30lbs by Christmas. I knew she was doing that I don't remember setting that goal but heck why not try.

The Rachel Ray "fried" chicken is awesome out of the oven, not so great heated up in the microwave...soggy. So for the next two day I'll probably buy lunch (Sunterra Salad or Wendy's small chili & side salad).

I got me a goal....whoa

Hugs!

Day 20- Should I?

First off a congratulations to all the Melissa Road Race people, kudos on your 20km. Especially to H, C and D - I heard it was rough and you guys are truly heroes.

I met up with D and her husband (here from Ontario) for lunch today, it's been about a year since I've seen her and it was great to catch up. She told me she'd be back for the Calgary Half Marathon in May 2010. Then she said you should do it, when I shook my head she countered with - you've done a marathon. This has been percolating in my brain since then...should I? The last one I did I was not a happy camper, I was disappointed in myself and I hurt. Mind you the training for that race was greatly lacking. Then I thought about the marathon in Hawaii, that was by far the most physically and mentally difficult thing I've ever done. I pushed myself farther than I ever thought I could.

So I've walked two half marathons and one marathon. What if my goal was to run/walk a half marathon? I do better with a goal in mind. I've got time to seriously think about it. Serious training would have to start a minimum 16 weeks before hand. So that would be February, with Oct - January to actually learn to run. I have something to prove to myself. I have until January to sign up for the race at the cheapest rate. Goodness know I have all the gear already. This has the wheels turning my friends.

I felt a twang walking past the new Sport Chek downtown at all the training gear...

Stepped on the scale this morning and I was 2lbs down from yesterday...dang it. Why don't I weigh in on Sundays?

No biggy but this coming week all my spare time is dedicated to preparing for the test. So the focus on food is huge this week. In the oven right now is Rachel Ray's "fried" chicken (chicken, mustard, bread crumbs baking) and that will teamed with peas or beans for work lunch. I'm debating on tossing in some brown rice into that so I might but the rice cooker on in a minute.

The studying has been off and on this weekend, I've had a hard time focusing. So far practice questions are going well but I still need review time. Walking will be outside this week as every minute counts this week.

I'm definitely packing my running shoes for the trip next week, what better way to explore these new cities then go for a walk.

That's all I got for tonight, until tomorrow.

Hugs!!!

Day 19 - Up .6 WTF?

I was not happy when I weighed in this morning as the last thing I was expecting was a gain after a pretty awesome week. Of course I knew what was causing the gain....the dreaded TOM. I felt like I was retaining water when I woke up and had a general feeling of ickiness. The good news is I'm normally up about 2lbs at this time so .6 is not so bad. I just need to keep taking it day by day and I'm sure next weigh in my work will be rewarded.

Today I'm sticking close to home to practice test questions. I might need to swing by the local store to grab milk as that might not be able to wait until grocery shopping.

I'm planning to do the grocery shopping tomorrow morning. I have friends here from Ontario and we're going for lunch tomorrow. I have no clue on timing just yet as they're running the Melissa Road Race today so we'll wait and see. I need to plan the grocery list as I'm gone the following week so I don't need a fridge full of food.

I also need to start a pack list so I don't forget anything for my across Canada trip that starts next Sunday. It's one thing when you're packing for vacation, a whole different ball game when you're packing for work.

That's all I got for now, enjoy your Saturday!

Hugs!

Day 18 - running out of steam a bit

This week I brought my lunch 4 times, I hit the gym 3 times. 2 trips short on the gym visit goal of the week but I'm still happy I actually went.

Lunch was out with the team today, well to the food court in my building I had a Montreal smoked meat panini, this is one thing I'm going to track down when I'm in Montreal as I'm always told it's just not the same unless you have it there.

Yesterday's seminar was good and I was exhausted. Being up at 5am does not lead to a energized person by 10pm that's for sure. I met up with my friends at Milestone's. I did look at the online menu beforehand and picked out a salad but when I got there the last thing I wanted was a salad. The veggies were intense this week and I got meatloaf instead. It came with garlic mashed potatoes but I ate a smidgen of those and stuck to the side veggies.

So of course I peaked at the scale this morning. Wednesday morning I was super happy as it was heading in the right direction, this morning not as fantastic so it's water, water and more water today.

This weekend will be grocery shopping at some point and a whole lot of practice test questions as the big test is next Saturday. Not exiting but necessary.

That's all I got for tonight but I hope you all had fantastic weeks.

Hugs!!!

Day 16 - OMG I brought lunch 3 days in a row

That is a record my friends. I'm going to finish off the week and that will be the first week since probably high school (I'm not kidding) that I've packed a lunch for a solid week.

Jamie - thanks for the comment and Halifax bloggers if you're available I'll be in Halifax by late afternoon on Wednesday (Oct 7) and I'm leaving Saturday morning (Oct 10). I have no idea what my schedule is like on the Thurday or Friday. I'm sure I can swing a dinner on Wednesday or Friday if you're up to it. It would be fantastic to get meet some of you face to face.

I'm totally psyched about seeing the Atlantic ocean. I'm such a geek :)

Hit the gym after work and did 40min on the treadmill playing around with incline i.e 2min at 3, 2min at 4, 2min at 5 sort of thing but it felt good and I had no hamstring issues at all.

At 2pm I had a mega snacking urge (snackapalooza week) but I resisted and stuck to my Kashi granola bar instead. It was a tough battle but I'm happy I won.

It was a blistering 33 degrees in Calgary today so for dinner I just nuked scrambled eggs and had a piece of toast. I didn't want to turn on any ovens.

Tomorrow night I'm heading to a positivity seminar so I doubt I'll be posting but I'll fill you in on any aha moments.

That's all I got for today my friends, until tomorrow.

Hugs!!!

Day 15 - Going East

I'm psyched! The week before Thanksgiving (CDN) I get to go to Montreal and Halifax. I've never been further east than Toronto. It's a work trip as I'm covering for someone else, but I'm still looking forward to it.

I love travel and being single with no kids it's no real problem for me.

In Montreal I'm so getting to a bookstore to pick up french books. I need to keep my language skills up and some of them are getting a wee bit fuzzy. Refreshing my french is a priority as I can also use that at work. German and Russian are the next projects.

I'll be happy when my NPPA test is done as then I can focus a bit more on that.

Food wise doing well today and on plan. I packed a gym bag but came home instead thinking the weather is so nice and then I wilted on the bus home. OMG it's hot out there and plus 30 is expected for tomorrow. So yoga it is tonight, return to an air conditioned treadmill tomorrow.

First I'm going to watch Biggest Loser (I heart Canadian time shifting).

Hugs!

Day 15 - water, water, water

Water was the go to drink today as I was trying very hard not to go off plan and stick to my packed lunch. I made a vow to buy no food item today and I did it. But man I must have zipped off to the bathroom 10 times today. Don't you love when you fall off the water wagon and then get back on it takes awhile for your body to adjust.

I brought a salad with chickpeas, spinach, yellow pepper, snap peas, grape tomatoes, red onion and Kraft Fig Balsamic dressing...it was awesome. I definitely eat with my eyes and all the colours were fantastic.

Snack was baby carrots and hummous. Not bad, it has never been my go to thing to combine carrots with hummous but it was really good.

Workout#2 of the week was 30min on the super fancy treadmill in my company's gym. This thing is funky and had a personal fan (loved that). I had meant to go a little longer but all day today I could feel my right hamstring and from previous experience I know to tread lightly when that acts up. Plus I knew there would be more walking from the bus stop to home. I kept a super good pace and on a 1% incline but opted not to add any running.

Was pretty darn hungry when I got home so I made a fast quesadilla with 2 WW tortilla and a 1/3c of Tex Mex 2% shredded cheese, with a good bit of salsa on the side.

Tomorrow I'm debating on walking around the hood (5k) route or go back to the treadmill at the gym. I'm thinking hood to enjoy the weather before snow falls.

I caught the tail end of Rachel Ray on the treadmill tv and so want to make the "fried" chicken dish. She took chicken breast, slathered it with mustard (eliminating the egg, milk combo) and then coated it with self seasoned bread crumbs. She baked it on a cooling rack within a baking sheet so the hot air circulates the chicken. It looked amazing and protein is an area I need to improve in. I'm not so good and making sure protein is represented in my diet.

I find my cooking mojo to be kicking back in, it's been dormant for awhile and I've stuck to the same stuff day in day out. I'm writing ideas down as they come to me so I don't forget them on grocery day.

Alright must go study now...hugs!!

Day 14 -- the rain won't stop me

First of all let me clear about my last post, the focus is still very much on food and tracking. I'm categorizing that like brushing your teeth = mandatory. The goal this week for exercise is more a tracking on the calendar with stickers sort of thing.

Speaking of exercise, I didn't let the rain stop me and went outside for a 5k walk around my neighbourhood. I put on the Garmin to track my progress. My pace was an average of 9:41km, not bad but no as good as it used to be. I didn't look at the Garmin while walking instead I just walked. Discovered at my first step out the door my ipod was dead but that did not stop me. I always hit a bit of a zone when I walk outside. My mind goes empty and I just focus on moving and the surroundings.

Got home and had lunch, which was soup. My co-worker introduced me to Spoon Fed Soups here in Calgary, it's an online organic soup delivery service. Every week there are 3 new soups. I ordered "Richard" which is an organic lentil, lime and roasted garlic and "Uhleen" a corn & potatoe chowder with bacon. I hate making soup -way too much prep work for me. So I thought I'd check this out. Richard was for lunch and it was really good, at first I thought it was kind of cilantro-ey (I despise cilantro) but I think it was the lime I was tasting. There was also plenty of carrots, celery, tomato and red pepper in the soup. Had a piece of ryvitta with a triangle of light laughing cow cheese - yummy. The soups come in mason jars and you get a credit for returning the empties. New soups are listed on Tuesdays and I'm looking forward to see what's coming up. All the ingredients they use are organic by the way. All the soups are named after people and they've got a list of about 50 types on their website. Totally intrigued as to which 3 will be featured this coming week.

There's something about the onset of fall that brings out the soup craving.

I don't know if I told you guys that I cancelled my organic grocery delivery as I just found it hard when the majority of products I was buying could be found at my supermarket. There is something about picking out your produce yourself.

Just wanted to stop in and report that workout #1 is done.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

One step at a time

I can't even tell you what I've done since Wednesday, it's all a blur. I had Friday off which was dedicated to yard work and house cleaning. My Dad came in and we cleaned eavestroughs (it's truly a wonder how much gunk gets in there) and fixed the board that the meter guy busted.

Dad is now on his way home and my head is swirling. You see yesterday afternoon I watched an episode of Dr. Oz. I've seen this guy on Oprah before and I have all the books, but the format of the books kind of bugs me so I've never got all the way through one. Yesterday there was episode focusing on a 60 day challenge to get healthier and improve their "Real Age".

The part where he showed the healthy liver and the fatty liver was totally disgusting but drove home a point. When Bob Harper came out and said most people give up because they take on too much i.e. I must eat healthy, all my fruits and veggies, do yoga and exercise 7 days a week, instead of focusing on one step at a time. This happens to me all the time hence the swirling head.

I know I've used the excuse of tracking diligently as my first step multiple times and that one goes in circles. I realized I need a different focus for first step and that's consistent exercise. So my goal for this week is 30min for 5 days this week. This doesn't mean that tracking is falling to the side, no no it's just I want to use exercise as the goal.

I set myself a goal of getting to goal weight in 6 months, that was on Sept 6th. I haven't done much in the last two weeks to get me there so I've got to get my patootie in gear. Happily the work project is winding down and the free food has stopped which is fantastic.

I'm heading to the gym today for workout#1 of this week and I will post what I did.

Later...hugs!

New Year's resolution

Funny conversation with work mates tonight as we enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Keg and then we zipped to a second location for drinks. It was a good bye dinner as team mates are returning to their home locations and back to doing what they normally do. I was super stuffed so stuck to water as opposed to drinks.

It was a conversation about how we've all gained weight during this project. The long hours, crazy schedules and free food being tossed at us has been rough.

We're all sort of thinking that the end of this project is like New Year's. The plans to get back to normal eating patterns and back into the gym has begun.

It is interesting how we all think of our body image. One of my co-workers is tiny in my eyes and she was bemoaning the gain of 5lbs on her just over 100lb frame. I did at first look at her with the thought of "You've got to be kidding me, I have 60lbs to lose" but I realized it's not about that.

When I get to goal weight I'm very sure 5lbs would bug me too.

I know I don't like myself now as I feel sluggish and tired. It's all a product of the behaviour I've had since being put on this project. The stress combined with a huge amount of stuff to accomplish resulted in bad decisions with the free food. There is always a turning point where you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on the journey. That's the point I'm at. I've had enough and want to be on the right track.

Did you all catch the first episode of Biggest Loser? My favourite is now Abbey, wholly bananas to go through something like that...your family being wiped out by an accident and then being able to simply get up and keep going is pretty damn inspiring.

I'm intrigued by the format of Bob and Jillian working together (awesome) and the teams being strangers (awesome).

I did tell them about this blog and gave them a clue to find me. So if you do find me, know that you are super fabulous people and I am blessed to have met you and having the opportunity to get to know you. For those who are going home, you will be missed but friendships are now formed. To those who are here, I think we have even stronger bonds to face whatever the heck it is we're facing in the future.

Love ya!

Hugs!

Day 9 - First Saturday off in 8 weeks

I slept till 9am, it was so nice.

I tracked nothing this week but was miraculously down 1.7lbs. Of course, tracking started again today. I got lucky last week as it could have easily been bad.

Since my last post on Wednesday, things have been a little crazy. Work is still a bit nuts and now I'm going to be on this project until October after that it looks like a new project. I have a feeling it will be months before I return to my normal responsibilities.

I'm going to go grocery shopping tomorrow as today I'm going to make a meal plan to get through next week.

I'm also going to create a study schedule as that big NPPA test is in 3 weeks and that will be here in no time at all.

Since I had a late breakfast, I'm just going to let my body decide when the next meal is needed.

Have a fantastic Saturday!

Hugs!

Day 5 - Edamame...mmmmmm

So the other day when I was grocery shopping I discovered frozen edamame in my store's organic freezer section. Yippee, I love this stuff and it's my hands down favourite appetizer at Earl's. I had that for dinner.

Today went better food wise, however at 10am I was starving and it was too soon to eat lunch so I went down to Second Cup and bought a muffin. I ate half of it and tossed the other half.

What I need to do is master the morning snack so I have some low fat banana muffin mix in my cupboard and I'll make mini muffins with something added to them for some oompff.

I've brought lunch two days in a row, which means I'm buying tomorrow. The mexican potato casserole is getting boring. What do you do to keep work lunches interesting? I've always been terrible at creating interesting lunches.

Things are definitely quieting down at work with the exception of all the little tweaks that everyone wants this very minute and of course their stuff is so much more important than everyone else's stuff.

It hit me today that I'm writing the second test of the CHRP designation in a month and oh my do I need to get my act together on that one.

I've created a 6 month goal for getting to goal weight. Following ala Biggest Loser, of course I won't be working out 6 hours a day but I think it's doable. I'm scheduling my skin check and physical for April so that's added motivation i.e. the being scrutinized while naked and the dreaded weigh in at the doctor's office.

Alright that's all I got for today...hugs!

Day 4 - If only there was a pill to fight snacking

I successfully brought and ate my lunch today. I've taken it to work before and then happily went off with people to buy something. Not today I stuck to what I brought.

I was tripped up by some multigrain tortilla chips and a haagen daz ice cream bar. The ice cream wasn't so much a trip up as I went and bought it. Ridiculously stupid move on my part and to be honest I'm not sure what caused it. I kind of mused out loud and then had a buddy to go get one.

Got it together for the rest of the day and had 2pt V8 tomato soup for supper.

Still worked a long day today as what needs to be done never goes away. I did make a huge dent in what I need to do so that was a relief.

The goal for tomorrow is to stick to what I brought without any deviations.

Water wasn't too bad today either, I'm on the road to getting back to drinking enough.

Alright, I'm zonked so that's all I got for today. Until tomorrow....hugs!!!!

Day 2 - sleeping in messes me up

A second day of getting to wake up on my own and not to the alarm clock. Too bad that's all over tomorrow. Today was spent finishing laundry and making a mexican potato casserole for work lunch.

I normally make the casserole from a weight watchers recipe but I find it fairly bland. So this time I used taco seasoning. It's ground beef, red pepper, tomatoes and potatoes with a bit of part skim tex mex cheese on top. Layered like lasagna with sliced potatoe replacing the noodles. Works out to 6pts per serving.

I also found myself watching the first season of Big Bang Theory, a co-worker lent it to me and I got through the first two discs. Now I'm watching Top Chef - Las Vegas. The Food Network is food porn but it gives you such good ideas for trying stuff you've never tried before.

My trouble with sleeping in is that throws off my eating schedule. Late breakfast turns into late lunch, then late dinner and toss in some snacking in between. I try very hard not to eat anything two hours before bedtime. I did arm myself with some friendly snacks like sugar free jello, sugar free chocolate pudding and unsweetened applesauce.

I need to stop buying Liberte Moka yogurt, this stuff is my kryptonite for sure.

What I am happy about it is I have a plan for tomorrow. Need to pick up a parcel after work and they're only open to 6pm, so no gym tomorrow but definitely on Wednesday.

Back to work tomorrow, hope everyone had a great weekend.

Hugs!

A fresh start - Day One

I actually have the next two days off...in a row. I haven't had two days off in a row in 7 weeks. On Friday I worked from 6:20am to 9pm and yesterday I worked from 8am to 7pm. I'm tired.

I stepped on the scale last night and saw a super scary number which sort of got me back to reality. I've pretty much been living in auto pilot lately. This project is definitely on it's way to wrapping up, probably only about a week and a half to go. The crazy part wrapped up this weekend from now on it should be smoother sailing and a return to a normal schedule i.e. next weekend off.

On Wednesday I discovered I'm moving within my company. Same job but reporting to a new area and a new boss. That feels a bit weird but an overall opportunity for a fresh start in a sense. That will start when the project finishes.

A refocus on weight loss and getting healthy plus a brand new opportunity at work. It's an overall fresh start.

Today I'm taking it a bit easy as I've had a headache for 3 days (stress related), today I must go grocery shopping and that's about the only thing I have to do today. Plus with Labour Day off to I can spread chores out over two days instead of the frantic pace I've been dealing with for the past couple of months. I also really want to go for a long walk in the hood.

The gym can come back in my life next week as I should actually be finished in work in time to get there. Lately I'm still working when they close. The most important thing I need to start doing again is packing my lunch and snacks.

This is truly a fresh start so I'm starting back at day one. Today the goal is to track everything and stay on plan.

Enjoy your weekend my friends,

Hugs!

Brief visit

I've been away from blogland due to still working crazy hours and when I get home the last thing I want to do is touch a computer. My eating habits are crap and exercise is non-existent. Yes, the stress is starting to get to me. Alas not long until I can return to a normal schedule and once again have focus on a healthier me as opposed just trying to get through the day. Spirits are high though it's just slowing me down.

I'll be back to regular posting about my journey to goal soon.

Those potatoe pancakes I was talking about are only available at Ikea in their food section. They're in the frozen section and I think they're called Rosti, there is only one type.

I'm still reading you all though.

Hugs!

Why Tim Horton's rocks

It's not just the strangely addictive coffee, you see last year I bought myself a TimCard (reloadable) as I was tired of searching for change or having to use debit (service charges). Not to mention it speeds up the whole process as it's swipe and go. It got misplaced (probably in the bottom of a handbag somewhere) and I never really gave it a thought as I didn't go that regularly.

The other day I got a new one as I now go to Tim's daily for my two milk/two sugar coffee (3pts I refuse to give up) and breakfast on the weekends I have to work. Well tonight I decided to register my card so if it's lost I get my money back.

I had registered the old card as well but I know it's not lost well only lost somewhere in my house. At any rate I discoverd I could transfer the balance of my old card to my new card ($4.60). Awesome, that at least two more coffees. That just made my day.

Apart from that the day was alright got a fair bit done which means I may only have to work the morning tomorrow.

Saw another slight gain on the scale. I've been a runaway train lately and need to reset. Get back the mojo so to speak which I'm now once gain prepared for. Going back to day one. Which always makes me think of my favourite quote.

"I never look back, darling. It detracts from the now"

OMG, for dinner I had these amazing potatoe pancake type things that I bought in the frozen food section (look more like grated potato then a pancake) at Ikea. They're 1pt for two and I had them with a bit of tzatziki....delish I must say.

Hope you enjoyed your Saturday.

Hugs!

First day off in 8 days

Boy was I running out of steam, we're all working crazy hours. One of my co-workers is on day 11. I hope she takes time off this weekend. I return to work tomorrow and most likely Sunday and then we'll see when the next day off happens. The tail end of the project is in sight and I'm sure all of us are looking forward to more normal schedules.

I have been way off program and not terribly happy with myself. Someone said to me "everything in moderation" yup I know that. My problem has been forgetting the moderation and running with the everything. It's a lifestyle change not a diet so I am back on the wagon.

Today was not a day of relaxing but more a day of getting stuff down. I grocery shopped, did two loads of laundry, vacummed, dusted, mowed the lawn and put the sprinkler on.

Still to do is dishes and clean the bathroom. I'm pacing myself as I don't know when my next day off will be. Lately I've been so zonked by the time I get home, chores are the furthest thing from my mind that's for sure.

Now I have a fridge full of veggies so that will help.

So you think you can dance Canada has begun and I have the last episode on the pvr. I'm not so happy Emmanuel Sandhu is on the show. He bugs me. Alas I'm sure I'll find a favourite.

3 weeks ish until the next Biggest Loser...can't wait.

Hope all of you are well,

Hugs!!!

I'm here

Just smokin' busy...be back later

I did see that coming

Saturday's weigh in resulted in a gain, I wasn't surprised so I'll take it as a lesson learned. Got out of work at a reasonable hour yesterday so a few of us went to go see Julie/Julia. It was great, Meryl Streep is a genius.

Worked again today and I have no idea when my next day off is at all but there is 3 weeks-ish left to go on this project so the end of the tunnel and a return to a more normal schedule is in sight.

Also have no idea when I'll next see a grocery store. Work brought in Saturday's lunch from Subway and today's lunch from Swiss Chalet. Tomorrow will be back to food courts and I'm heading to the salad bar at Sunterra Market. I need to get to the post office to pick up a parcel as well.

One of my co-workers said he'd thought we'd all be burnt out by now, well I did listen to 3 songs on my alarm radio before I got out of bed today. The crazy work hours are starting to wear on people. Mind you once in the normal work week it's not so bad, the weekends are getting tougher.

Alright my friends that's all I got for now, but I hope all of you in storms path are safe.

Hugs!

Snack, snacky, snackiest

This is my work place right now, it's kind of like boot camp (not the fitness kind) more like dig in, head down and get'er done. Which means the snacks are getting out of hand and worse one's complete obliviousness to picking up said snack and noshing away.

It's ridiculous. Yesterday I bought a bag of chips for my team as it was late afternoon and no one was going home anytime, people from other rooms were sniffing about and got wind of the chips - they were gone in seconds. It's like a National Geographic special of some kind with a band of wolves descending of some poor creature.

The other day someone brought the 100cal Ah Caramel's and I had one unwrapped and half eaten before I knew what I was doing.

We've got this bizarre pace of crazy busy or hurry up and wait. The waiting part is killer because that's when you go looking for something to occupy yourself and why not eat.

Add in crazy hours i.e finished at 7:30pm yesterday, 6pm tonight - who knows tomorrow. Will be working all weekend again. So far averaging one day off a week and it's starting to wear a little. Planning is key right now. Last night I was washing dishes at 10pm.

The next time I can get myself to a grocery store I'm grabbing cherry tomatoes, carrots and some other types of bite size veggies. I will want to snack but if I have a healthy option next to me I will still have enough reason to grab the right thing. Stocking up on Smart Ones and Lean Cuisines might not be such a bad idea for the remaining weeks. Better than getting home late and eating your way through the kitchen as you try to think of what you'll have for dinner.

OMG I'm so psyched about the new season of Biggest Loser, in case you haven't heard there bringing previous contestants back again. I was watching Access Hollywood or something and they were interviewing a contestant who's the heaviest yet and I swear I saw Daniel from last season standing on the scale next to her. There going to the single competitor format (the original format) this season and I can not be more excited. I can't find pictures of all of the new cast to confirm who else might be from previous seasons.

Alright that's all I got for now.

Hugs!!!

Yet another suprise day off

Yesterday afternoon it was decided that I could take today off as my area wouldn't be too busy today - I have no idea if another will happen and I will most likely be working the weekend again.

This project will end but I've met so many great people that it will be a bit sad when we all go back to our normal jobs.

My friend's birthday dinner didn't happen as she was off by 2:30pm and I had no idea when I'd be done. It turned into an 11 hour day for me and by the end I had no desire to go home and make dinner. Instead I tagged along with two of my out of town co-workers and we went to the Keg for dinner. Yeah, not so point friendly at all and the Pina Colada (it was very good) I had probably didn't help but it was just one of those days my friends. I was tired and hungry and that given moment I couldn't give a flying fig about points. I had a lovely time with them.

Of course today that's a totally different story and I'm focusing on water and planning a lower point day to compensate for yesterday. I've already been to the grocery store and soon I will clean my house. Some other activity will be a part of today and it's a debate between a walk outside or some pilates/yoga.

I discoverd some new varieties of single serving Kraft Dinner today. (At Walmart for 97 cents each) I picked up Szechwan Spicy (5pt), Extreme Pizza (4pts) and Alfredo (4pts). I had the Szechwan for lunch and it was good and definitely had a bit of a kick. I paired that with some frozen organic peas and a small banana. KD might not be the most nutritional option out there but 3min in the microwave could help those days when I'm to tired to make dinner. I also picked up the waffles that Angie (found in the organic freezer section of my Safeway) was talking about the other day (2 for 3pts) that's not so bad and 4g of fibre. They must have had about 6 different varieties of waffles but these were the Pomegran Plus variety.

So far today I've used 10.5pts. So plenty of options for a pm snack and dinner.

I changed my goal tracker to include my original starting weight when I first joined WW. It's been a long journey but I've never gone back to that number but I still think it's important to recognize where I started.

Have a groovy day!

Hugs!

Home a bit early

Got home at 2pm today not bad since I left for work at 7:30am. Got a lot done today so we'll see what happens next week.

I've had a request to explain the Wendi Plan. In a nutshell it was created by a lady named Wendi who discoverd while tracking on WW that weeks she varied her pts per day she had a better loss. For example she noticed that weeks she had a birthday party (for example) which resulted in a higher point day followed by a lower point day it kicked her metabolism into gear.

Instead of eating your "whatever" pts per day you take your pts for the week add in your flex points and then divide unevenly throughout your week. I first discoverd it when I was trying to break a plateau and have found when I do it consistently it helps in my losses.

Google "Wendi Plan" for more detailed explanations.

Have a groovy Sunday.

Hugs!

Down .3

.3 that may not be much but it's a loss and I'll take it.
Yes last week was not my best but the beauty of today is it's a new week.

The office was full of snacks today and lunch was from Peter's Drive In, luckily it was my high point day on the Wendi Plan but tomorrow it's a low day. I will plan accordingly.

Bit frustrating today as it seemed a bit chaotic and I do need to go in tomorrow. There were people who wanted to come in later but I am of the thought I'd rather go in earlier and leave early. So that's my plan for tomorrow.

Plus if it's quieter in the morning I can be more focused.

Apart from that not a lot to talk about today but I hope all of you had a fantastic Saturday.

Hugs!

Snafu

Maybe I shouldn't have blogged about my good tracking behaviour for 11 days in a row as yesterday was not so good.

Pair repetitive work with snacks being put in front of you = mindless snacking. It also didn't help that I was less than impressed with the lunch I brought to work and didn't really feel satisfied - not enough flavor. This easily leads to snacking for me as I search for something to fill the gap.

I did get home and tracked everything so I'm proud of that. I have in the past just sort of skipped over a bad day and not record it at all. It was right back on the wagon. However I'm not sure how that will effect weigh in tomorrow.

Last night I was so tired and went to bed early then spent half the night listening to the rain pelting overhead. Tonight I'm going to bed early again to have some extra oomph for the work days ahead.

Today was better and I purposely aimed a wee bit low in pts. Tomorrow is my free day (weigh in first thing in the am) and I have to work the weekend. Today we made tentative plans to get lunch from Peter's Drive In tomorrow. If you come to Calgary this is a must place to go but not pts friendy. Everything in moderation as they say.

That's all I got for now.

Hugs!!

Surprise day off

My work schedule continues to be a bit crazy. Monday was spent waiting for information and Tuesday was looking a bit like the same. We were then told that the pace would increase at the end of the week which will mean working Saturday and Sunday. I'm cool with that as we got to go home and take Wednesday off.

Being off early on Tuesday resulted in a hunt for an opportunity for a manicure. That didn't go well as no spots were available in the 4 salons I and T looked at. I did make an appointment for today and then cancelled last night. I own at least 6 bottles of OPI and it wasn't that long ago I had a manicure so I can change the nail polish myself. I'm saving myself $20.

Tuesday also resulted in not having planned lunch as I was running around and found myself very hungry at McDonald's. Not so smart planning resulted in using up the rest of flex pts. That's o.k I just need to be very very focused for the next 3 days.

The tough part is now doing what I wanted to do on Saturday on a Wednesday. When I'm not feeling weekendy. Does that make sense?

Woke up without an alarm at 7am today and then off to the grocery stor and the fridge is ready for healthy meals. I've got today mapped out and I know what I'm bringing for lunch on Thursday and Friday. For me to bring lunch it has to be something I'm excited about so I'm going to make a sort of turkey stroganoff.

I've stopped my grocery delivery service. It was great but when it came right down to it - it just wasn't ideal as I always found myself going to the grocery store to get what they didn't have. I had previously scoped out my grocery store's organic section and everything I love is available there as well. Plus when I re-start my travel schedule that completely changes what I need grocery wise.

I've now tracked perfectly for 11 days and half way through day 12. I walked to the grocery store and back today too.

I've created a list of rewards for every 5lbs on my journey to goal. Small things for every 5lb mark (under $10) and bigger things for the 10lb marks. Right now I'm 5lbs away from my first 10lb goal on my renewed WW journey and that's a workout tote from Lululemon, not a bag but a tote.

One day at a time is my new philosophy.

Hugs!

The lawn is mowed

Yesterday I wound up going a few pts over my super high day due to lunch at a vietnamese restaurant. I guestimated on pt values and then got home and tracked down the real numbers. Couldn't plan ahead on that one as we were all going together and I didn't know where until half a minute before we left.

I must say this is where Daily Plate comes in handy. When the WW tracker doesn't have the item, I just pop over to Livestrong and find the nutritional value. They have a very impressive data base.

I've adjusted my daily pt goals to factor in Saturday so I'm still on track. Today was a normal pt day and I wound up having lunch at Ikea but that's what's so fabulous about WW is everything can fit in. I'm still on track.

I've already plugged everything in for tomorrow. Taking it day by day.

After a wee battle with my lawn mower I finally got jungle lawn taken care of and weeded the flower beds. Discovered the first foot of my lawn was already mowed????? A signal from one my neighbours? The lawn was shaggy not a foot long, I noticed one neighbour had a recently mowed lawn, perhaps they got totally into what they were doing and missed their property line?

Ikea was chance to catch up with my friend P who just returned from a month in Sweden. I picked up a bag of frozen swedish meatballs as a quick protein option (6 meatballs/5pts). I've ground turkey and pork chops in the fridge that I plan to make into turkey meatloaf and shake n' bake pork - also quick protein options for the week. I've got a fridge full of veggies.

I have a plan and I will stick to it.

Hugs!!!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go

First let me say.....Down 4lbs.....whoo hoo.

I've got to say when you follow the program it actually works. I went over my pts and flex this week that just shows that I probably ate less calories this last week then the preceeding weeks. Though I did wind up doing a Wendi Plan sort of thing with high/low variations on daily pts. So this week I'm going to follow the Wendi Plan and see what happens. It's always worked well for me in the past.

Yesterday was dedicated to grocery shopping and I had meant to mow the lawn but it was still a wee bit wet when I wanted to do it so it can wait for tonight or tomorrow.

Did eat a low point day to off set the poutine fiasco of the day before. However today is my super high pt day ala Wendi Plan (scheduled as far away from weigh in day as possible of course). I will focus on real food as opposed to a day filled with junk. The trick is also to track everything and not have a free for all day.

I'm very leary of all the 2pt snacks out there when you read the ingredients and it's all junk. Just because it's low in points does not mean it's good for you is my new mantra.

Alright I'm off to work but I hope all of you have a fantastic Saturday.

Hugs

The call of the poutine

So my first week back on WW is going alright, I've had some wild days due to lack of planning and some spot on days. Today was a wild one.

The team I'm working with right now includes one of our American co-workers. She's one American surrounded by Canadians. We do tease her a bit like today we told her she spelt colour wrong by spelling it "color". We've introduced her to timbits and explained a Coffee Crisp.

Today we were talking about poutine (french fries covered in cheese curd and topped with gravy - in case you don't know). So we told her we'd get it for lunch today so she can try it. She asked where we got it and we answered KFC. Of course the KFCs in the U.S don't have poutine. She asked us to get her a biscuit - the Canadian KFC's don't have biscuits.

I enter the poutine in my tracker after I ate it....23 points....whoa!!!!!!!!! I don't know what I was thinking, I wasn't expecting it be low in pts but I was staggered by 23. I drank a lot of water today after I plugged that in to the tracker.

She is not a fan of cheese so didn't really take to the poutine. So why do I have to be a fan of cheese??

I'm not beating myself up about it and it's vegetables for dinner. Still one day to go to weigh in and I must be an angel tomorrow. I have the day off because I have to work on Saturday so that might work in my favour as there will be no office snacks near me. Now it's all about damage control.

Beware the poutine.....

Hugs!

I keep thinking it's Sunday...

My timing is off today probably from working the weekend, for part of the morning I thought it was Sunday.

Crazy storm last night with booming thunder and mega winds, I have 3 giant trees in front of my house and at one point I was just thinking "Please don't fall over". Only one flower pot got knocked over so not so bad. It is a bit gloomy today so I opted to stay home and take care of house stuff. I've put off grocery shopping today as I can raid cupboards for a few days. I want to lay low as I have no idea if I'll be working next weekend too.

I tracked everthing and it was ugly yesterday (Tim Horton's, Panago Pizza, Starbucks) so I was even more determined to keep today on track and I have 10pts remaining for the rest of the day - which is plenty. I have a handful of flex points for the rest of the week. I guess I'm following a bit of a Wendi Plan week.

Stepped on the scale this morning to take a peak and it's heading in the right direction. Saturday will continue to by weigh in day.

Cosmo channel is running a marathon of The Fashion Show, think Project Runway. I've got the pvr picking that up as weekday tv sucks.

Tomorrow might wind up being a buy lunch day as I didn't go grocery shopping but I'm going to plan out my day in advance tonight and plug it into the tracker. I think this will also help curb any office snacking as I strongly suspect something will show up tomorrow as it's the first day of the new week.

So far there's been Tim Bits, individually wrapped cheese - gouda, havarti and etc.(God Bless whoever picked the Baby Bell Light), a caramel chocolate cake, cheese ball, chocolate, chips, cheezies and a variety of pastries from Starbucks. Yes...the will must be strong in this place.

For those having a holiday Monday - I hope your enjoying yourself. For those who don't - hope your week is starting off well.

Hugs!!

What a fabulous idea

At work at 8:30am this morning but I woke up at 5am and decided to figure out all the changes I'd have to take care of this morning. That totally helped as I got into work with a plan and all was done quickly. The rest of the time was spent fixing other stuff but all is good.

Left at 2ish and got a ride home from a co-worker that I've now had the opportunity to really get to know and she's fabulous. She came up with the idea to go for a manicure and pedicure on the way home. Awesome, massaging chairs and pampered feet and hands plus a quick eyebrow wax and I'm delighted.

I have the day off tomorrow and I have to catch up on house work and such. I'm living in chaos right now and I'm actually happy to tackle this tomorrow before another crazy week.

Next week I'm bringing my lunch and own snacks plus my gym bag everyday.

Until later....

Hugs!

So tired

It turned out I didn't need to do over everything today just tweak a few things. Today was a normal ish 8 hr day at work with a lot to do first thing and then a whole lot of waiting. At 10min to 5pm a whack load of work landed on my desk. The plan became go home and rest and come back tomorrow.

While I'm not super thrilled about working a Sunday, I am much happier to tackle these things fresh in the morning.

Eating was alright today, we had OPA for lunch but there where snacks everywhere. I didn't go crazy but I could have been better behaved. Tracked everything as best I could.

Now I just have to do it all tomorrow. I'm really really really hoping for Monday off.

Later

Back to basics

Another long day done and more to look forward to tomorrow. It's been a long time since I worked a Saturday but I found out today I get to re-do all the work that I've spent the last 3 days....fun! Actually I'm looking forward to in that I'll have a day of things to do. What would kill me is if I had to wait around all day.

Today I rejoined WW online. While I adore the daily plate I think they can work together. It also helps that WW won their diet face off and this year they're pitching WW against Bob Greene's program. When it comes right down to it the most successful I've ever been with weight loss has been with WW and I can still recall points - not to mention this blog is named WW For Life. I'm hesitant to go back to meetings for a few reasons and one is cost. Online is cheaper and I have multiple versions of the printed materials to complement that.

My eating has been pure crap for the week. Eating lunch out every day and out to dinner twice this week. Healthy options have not been on the top of my list. My goal for next week is to pack my lunch and hit the gym every day even it's just for 30min on a treadmill. Another reason for going to back to WW is I find it easier to count points then calories.

I'm starting back at the beginning with a clean slate.

Hugs!

Alternate plans

Hello long time no blog.

This project I'm on is going to suck up a lot of time. So far the average is 10hrs - 11hrs a day at work. My plan to make two training sessions a week are sinking fast so alternate plans need to happen.

I emailed my trainer to give him a heads up that due to the volume of work my ability to make a 4:30pm session might be tricky as so far I haven't left any earlier than 5pm. Today he emails me and asks if I'm coming on Thursday. I won't know until Thursday as the stuff I'm working on is totally deadline driven and involves waiting on info from other people. Knowing that volume is looming I said it's doubtful.

So he emails me back and says "It's important for your health". Duh..I didn't appreciate this comment as I had already explained what was going on. I don't like missing sessions either as I can't give him 24hrs notice I forfeit the session. This work is important and having the news declare that the unemployment rate in Alberta has gone drastically up and knowing people who do what I do are having a difficult time finding work, doing your job well is more important than ever. I've been put on this project for a reason.

What this does fuel me to do is show him up. Work hard around my erratic work schedule and when I can make a session show that I know what I'm doing.

One of my challenges is getting home after a long day and having to make dinner with no energy. So my organic order is filled with easy to heat up options to get through these crazy weeks.

Life happens and you can't hide under the covers. Things change you make alternate plans.

Enough said.

Later

Aha moments

OMG it's going to be hot today, it's hot now. 29 degrees celsius is expected...yuck.

I headed out at a little after 9 to the grocery store to pick up some stuff my grocery delivery didn't have plus cupcake ingredients and it felt hot. I did walk home with all the groceries, put them away and then plopped myself down in front of the fan.

Was up a lb this morning which didn't make me happy but I know what went wrong. This week will be interesting because it's been a few months since I've had to fend for myself food wise 24/7.

I was thinking a bit more about goals as I walked this morning. While my end goal is a new wardrobe, there are things I covet that could fall into the goal arena such as the Lulumon gym tote that looks more like a shopping bag and a wireless printer.

I think my new work areas is going to be a snack fest so I must plan myself carefully as I'll most likely be sitting there for the next month and a half - a lot of damage can happen in that time.. Most importantly I need to bring lunch and snacks and another important thing is water. My water intact has suffered greatly.

While I love tracking on daily plate there are technical issues that can make it a little frustrating plus I won't be able to add things during the day so more traditional tracking must come back in play.

I have so much house stuff to do this weekend that a gym visit will be challenging but I am bringing bym clothes to work on Monday even if I'm hauling 36 cupcakes.

Alright that's all I got.

Hugs!

What a week...

Hellooo

Extended absence this week as my visit to site was extended a day. I had two days of clothes for a 3 day stay, thank goodness that shower gel can sometimes double as laundry detergent. We do have full washers and dryers at site but it felt wrong to stick four articles of clothing in.

Much has happened this week, I don't need to go to site for the next few weeks as I've been put on a project at home. It was bitter sweet on Wednesday while happy to not have to get up so early for planes I will definitely miss my peeps. However I do feel this break will be better for my waist line as I'm in control of food.

I hit the treadmill on Monday and on Tuesday a co-worker and I went for a walk outside. That lasted until I was being followed by 3 wasps. Then we headed inside and played ping pong for half an hour. OMG I was laughing so hard at the ping pong as it took awhile until we found our groove. A lot of time was spent chasing the ping pong ball including when it landed on the neighbouring pool table while a game was being played.

I cancelled my training session tonight as I was in a meeting all day that I thought would run late. It didn't but I didn't have gym clothes with me. I'm not sure what the weeks ahead will hold for scheduling as I'm expecting the project to be crazy busy.

I did manage to walk around a bit outside but my lord it was hot and uncomfortably so. I find this weather good for my diet as I don't want to eat when it's uber hot. The moment I got home I found a fan. Dinner was quick nachos in the microwave as I couldn't bear turning on anything that gave off heat.

I have promised my coworkers cupcakes on Monday as I no longer have the excuse that I have to get on plane for awhile.

The Wednesday workout will not happen until the weekend that's for sure.

In terms of long and short term goals, I know my long term goal for when I hit goal weight is a new wardrobe. The shorter goals are tough for me. I think I'll go with 5lbs at a time sort of thing as to what will need thought.

That's all I got for today.

Hugs

Weekend is over :(

My attempt to sleep in today resulted in waking up at 6am, I literally said heck no to that so I managed to snooze for awhile longer.

Breakfast was two pieces of organic cinnamon raisin toast with a teaspoon of Olivina margarine on each slice and a glass of milk.

Stepped on the scale and briefly wished I had made Sundays my weigh in day as there was a loss.

Then I had to head downtown to Origins to pick up a Peace of Mind On The Spot for a co-worker at site. She had a headache one day and I always have one these in my bag so just rub it on earlobes, temples and the back of your neck and shazaam. I remember when I first tried it, they were sampling it at The Bay and I did have a headache and in 10min it felt much better. Well she asked me to pick some up for her as she lives in Fort Mac.

I came right back home again but by then my eating pattern was thrown off. I find this a challenge on the weekends. At work I have very scheduled meal times which makes it easier to plan and I find if that gets tossed off it messes me up. For example I usually have lunch around 11:30ish, today I didn't have lunch until 1:45pm so it turns into a bit of snackfest (today an incident with Ben&Jerry's Chunky Monkey) because I'm indecisive about what to eat. Then the snackfest effects supper because I'm not really hungry. This doesn't happen the whole weekend but usually at least one day on the weekend.

I just need to schedule mealtimes on weekends too.

This whole weightloss journey can be a funny thing. You need to know what you're doing. I was talking to another co-worker at site last week. She's new and we were in the take-out kitchen (where one can pack lunch or snacks as the main kitchen shuts down at 8am, opens again 12-1:30 and closes until 5pm). As we're walking along picking up fruit she tells me she's sort of following weightwatchers. I told her I'm fluent in points. First she asks me if popcorn is 0pts. I tell her it depends on how much you have and what type but it's not usually 0pts. So she's telling me her friend said it was 0 and about this microwave stuff she has that's super low.

Later in the day she shows it to me and it's regular butter 12g of fat in half a bag popcorn. Then she tells me she's following WW on the fly - not signed up for meeting and not doing it online. Whoa, she then tells me she's been having a bag a night because she thought it was 0pts.

Even though I've taken a break from WW, I'm a strong believer in following it correctly so I told her if she's not going to sign up try Daily Plate.

It was funny I was coming back from the grocery store yesterday and I saw people going into my old meeting, it made me feel a bit of a twinge. Going back is definitely in the back of my head.

Alright so I'm off to site again this week and have a very early wake up time. I'm going to repeat last week and make sure to get a workout in while there. Trainer returns this week and I'm committed to two additional trips to the gym when back in Calgary.

Have a fantastic week everyone!

Hugs!

Whew!

Weigh in this morning resulted in staying exactly the same as last week, I guess I'm blessed on that front as Wed and Thur were rough foodwise, my clean Friday certainly helped.

Did Amy's 20min challenge first thing this morning (exactly 5min of running not all at once) and the picture above is my sweaty hat head. Then I walked to and from the grocery store (4K) and then I got an email from the neighbour asking if I wanted to walk the dog. Well of course I love that dog so I went and picked her up and we did just over 30min. Had a rockstar moment as two toddlers on the route went crazy for the dog. Their little squeals of "puppy" were awfully cute. The dog is hysterical, when she heard them she starts to trot down the sidewalk while looking at them- very model like. I'll take her again tomorrow.

Then I came home and wound up snoozing on the couch for two hours.

I tried the Amazing Grass chocolate today. I put a cup of milk and packet into my magic bullet to mix it well. I'm not so crazy about this on it's own. It kind of tasted like Greens with a bit of chocolate. Now that I have this I definitely think I'll be adding it to smoothies as opposed to just having it with milk.

Things I still need to do today are laundry and entering all my food into Daily Plate, I've got all this week to enter. I'm going to break out the crockpot to make my organic chili will pretty much wind up with a whole whack of veggies. Still planning in my head and I'll probably make it tomorrow. I'll post the final product.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Saturday.

Hugs!

Pajama Day

So my great plans to sleep in wound up in me waking up at 7am today, oh well if you've had a week of 3:30am to 5:30am wake ups 7am is probably not so bad.

I had an internal battle with myself today as what to do with my friday off. Part of me wanted to head out to check out the newly opened Bath and Body Works and the other half just wanted to lay low. Lay low won as I'd probably wind up buying stuff I don't really need at Bath and Body Works. That can wait.

I thought today would be the perfect day to do the clean eating challenge as I'd be home all day and therefore in control of my food. Boy, did I feel like a bit of food stylist as I was taking pictures of everything I ate today. So here we go:

Breakfast

This was oatmeal made with almond milk, 1/2 box organic raisins, 1 Tblsp of organic walnuts and a glass of 1% milk.

Morning Snack

This was Olympic Organics vanilla yogurt with strawberries.

Lunch

This was an omelette made with two organic eggs filled with red onion, mushroom and red pepper with a roma tomatoe on the side. It's pretty brown but I can't make light fluffy omelettes.

Afternoon Snack

This is a Kettle Organic Strawberry Fruit Snack

Supper

This is whole wheat noodles with peas and plain tomato sauce, jazzed up with some Mrs Dash Southwestern spice (not sure if that's "clean" but it's good). On the side are organic green beans steamed with a bit of Renee's Wellness lemon garlic dressing - This was really yummy.

I had no clue what I was going to have for supper so I raided my pantry.

I did spend the whole day in my pajamas and had an afternoon nap. Watched a couple episodes of Being Erica online - not a bad show. My only people interruption of the day was a delivery of my Amazing Greens order. I got the chocolate sample pack. Didn't try it today but will soon and give my report.

Tomorrow is supposed to be 30 degrees, which I despise - way too hot for me. So my goal is to get everything done in the morning and that includes the workout challenge for this week.

Hope you had a groovy day.

Hugs!

Back and planning to sleep in 3 days in a row

Hello hello,

I am back from my journey to Northern Alberta. While I was fairly well behaved food wise at site all that went south in Fort Mac. Mostly because where I work you're only food option is a cafeteria and options are not so healthy.

I didn't see the food challenge this week until today but a day of clean eating sounds good to me.

Had a good time away but I'm happy to be home for awhile before I have to get on a plane again. I'm looking forward to hitting the gym tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to sleeping in.

On the plane home I read the Air Canada magazine and they had an article on CrossFit training, this is the mantra my trainer follows so it was nice to learn a little more about it.

Thrilled that I have a day off tomorrow and the weather is supposed to be fantastic this weekend for all Alberta...finally.

Alright that's all I got for day as I'm a bit wiped.

Until later...

Hugs!

Pit Stop

Back in Calgary for a few short hours and a sleep in my own bed and then it's off to Fort Mac for two days.

Site was good and I watched my eating. The two days of solid rain wasn't so fun especially as it was not forecasted. I had problems with livestrong.com so I wrote everything down for when I have an opportunity to enter it.

Also made it the gym and did 50min on the treadmill and that included a few minutes of running...shocking as I'm not a runner.

Short post as I must go to bed for my 3:30am wakeup call.

I tried to post via email but it looks like it didn't work so I must try that again.

Alright I'm out.

Jungle lawn

That was the major thing I tackled today and I consider that a workout. I have a fairly big backyard and with all the rain we've been getting adding in the fact I didn't have a chance to mow it last week it was a jungle lawn. All in all about 50min of mowing today and I do use a power mower but I was sweating for sure.

Before I tackled the lawn I tackled laundry and had the same breakfast as yesterday - Oatmeal with 2/3 unsweetened almond milk and half a box organic raisins. That kept me full till lunch.

While mowing I twinged my left shoulder pulling the mower. I think I've worked that out but it's still sore. By lunch my mobility was a bit comprimised so I opted for Prairie Mill Organic Raisin Bread toasted. I had a green monster a little later on as I needed some sort of vegetable fruit. Today it was two handfulls of spinach, 1c unsweetened almond milk, 1c strawberries and a frozen banana.

Snack was a Kettle Valley Organic Cherry fruit bar, Yummy! I'm normally not a huge fan of fruit bars as I find them way too sweet. This one was perfect. I threw a couple in my bag for work so I have a healthy snack. I got a sample back from spud so in bag is strawberry and cranberry. I also packed a couple of granola bars.

Supper was a Money's mushroom burger on a PC burger first whole wheat bun with mustard, relish, ketchup and tzatziki chased down with a Bud Light Lime. Also very yummy.

Have you ever noticed how many food ads there are on tv, it's crazy. When I was contemplating a snack it was like they were on every few minutes.

That's two days in a row of spot on tracking. I won't forget my runners this week so I can workout Monday at site. Alright the goal is to be able to report back to you all that I've tracked for the whole week.

Posting will be random this week due to travelling but I hope you had a great weekend and have a fabulous week.

Hugs!

He speaks russian in french

That line comes from a beer commercial that just made me laugh at loud. The narrator's voice just adds the icing on the cake.

I did sleep in today and it was awesome. Breakfast today was oatmeal, with unsweetened almond milk and 1/2 a box of organic raisins. Totally yummy and kept me full for a long time. Note to self - maybe I should do that more often.

I then went to the grocery store as I needed a few things. Walked there and back which is about 4km. Hamstring was twinging a bit but on the road to recovery. On the top of my list was spinach and the only option I had was a giant container, got some organic yogurt, organic milk and El Molino Multigrain Tortilla Chips.

When I got home I transferred the spinach into garden ziploc bags as it fit easier in my fridge. I knew spinach had to factor into a meal today so I tried to re-create the salad I had at Earl's.

I also picked up a Renee Tangerine Lime Vinagrette salad dressing (35cal/ table spoon). No champagne vinagrettes at Safeway. In the salad was spinach, 1/4 avocado, a smidgen of goat cheese, red onions, strawberries and 4 oz of chicken that I grilled on the Cuisinart griddler

I wanted to really focus on tracking today as that has been my downfall lately. I totally believe that's the key to staying on track. I love Daily Plate and I really like seeing the breakdown of the fat/carbs/protein and not just calories.

For supper I really wanted nachos, hence the El Molino purchase. Ridiculous amount of fibre in these too. This time I actually weighed the tortilla chips, 50g is a serving/ approx 20 chips. I know I normally go a little overboard with the amount of chips. I had grilled a little red pepper as I was grilling chicken earlier so I added that as well at tomatoes, red onion and mozza/cheddar with salsa on the side.

The huge challenge this coming week will be not being able to totally control my food options. I face this every week with being on site Monday and Tuesday and that's usually when my tracking falls apart. I can access Daily Plate at work but it's not always that convenient to update like I do when I'm at home at the end of the day. Still there's no excuse as to why I stop tracking. The thing with site is I have no idea what the options will be for that day and it's a cafeteria style so everything is already prepared, you can't say no this or no that in terms of preparation, it's totally up to choosing wisely. I like what Fatbridesmaid does with the notebook. I'm not that organized to pre-enter everything that far ahead of time but I could write stuff down and add it when I have a chance.

The other challenge for me is consistent exercise in terms of covering weights, cardio and flexibility. I need to put together a training program as I've found that works in the past. Now that I've truly seen what's available at site I think I can do that better now. I'll post something about that later as I sort it out. I was flipping channels today and I found the Viva channel and show called Tosca- Flexing at 49. Tosca is the clean eating entrepreneur. I have her cook book. But holy smoke she's got a fantastic body. Very inspiring I would have to say.

I have total respect for all of you who add all the pictures of your food to you blog. I tried it today as you can see and can't see myself doing it all the time just due to the pain of moving the pictures around. So kudos to all of you.

I'm happy to say I've tracked everything today and I'm totally on plan. Here's to repeating the whole thing tomorrow.

Hugs!

Friday!!!

I'm so happy it's Friday, I've been tired all week and I'm so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

When I got home from work my Spud.ca order was here. I immediately realized I forgot to put out last weeks container. Oh well they'll get it next week.
In my order was:
Mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, bananas, strawberries, kiwis, cauliflower, broccoli, organic cinnamon raisin bread, and tzatziki from a local supplier.

I've also been collecting some cans of beans and tomatoes that are from Eden Foods - no BPA in the cans. I'm planning on making an organic chili for work lunch.

The moment I opened the container I put everything in bags designed to keep food fresh longer. The ziploc ones and the green ones (infomercial but available at Walmart). We'll see how that goes. The bananas were cut up, bagged and put in the freezer - ready for green monsters.

Yoga is on tap for tonight and I'm so looking forward to that to. Hamstring feels way better today so I think I'm up to a more intense workout tomorrow.

Alright that's all I got for now.

Hugs!

Noooooooooooo!!!!!!

That was my first thought today as I looked at my Ipod touch and saw the apple logo smack in the centre. Which I've learned to mean - Ipod is having a heart attack. Of course I realize all this with 3 minutes to get out of the door. So all I could do was leave it on the coffee table and grab my samsung mp3.

I was not happy. I have wireless in my house so I download stuff directly to the Ipod without using a computer, therefore it is only saved on the Ipod. When I got home the power was dead and when I recharged it was fine....whew.

My hamstring is still bugging me as I feel it with every step that I take, not very much fun going upstairs either - I discovered today. So I decided to take a day of rest. I did stop off at the library on the way home and walked home (16 blocks). I pass a liquor store on the way so I stopped in to see if they had any Bud Light Lime and I got the last box of cans. I also walked home holding 24 cans. I count that as a bit of a workout.

Tomorrow I may focus more on stretching/yoga and then do Amy's workout on Saturday.

I was a bit tired all day today and I'm so looking forward to tomorrow being Friday. I'll make an attempt to dress western tomorrow - a tradition during Stampede. I was quite surprised to see the extensive stampede wear in my building. There were very few people in normal work clothes.

The weekend will be focused on rest. This coming week I travel a lot and will almost never be home so the true test will be eating out for every meal. Taking next Friday off.

Alright, that's all I got for today.

Hugs!

Trainer has a blog!

Hello my friends,

Site was great this week, weather was good and bugs were huge. I was sitting at my desk and this big country spider walked out from underneath. I wheeled smack into my office mate trying to avoid it. Of course he gives this look of I can't believe your afraid of a spider.

Was back at the gym today with a training with my trainer - who now has a blog and you can find it here. If you live in Calgary and like to workout downtown I highly highly recommend him. He has a great sense of humour and will push you. He completely believes in you even when you don't. He does have his irritating moments :)

While at site I had forgotton my running shoes so I would up training my co-worker. She told me she was very sore today.

Today trainer (Lincoln) introduced something called 50,40,30,20,10
Oh and I was by myself today as my group mates are on vacation and such. It's been a long time since I've trained one on one and at first I was a wee bit freaked out. There's something comforting about being tortured in a group format. It's a combination of feeling like a part of a team and knowing you can so smoke that other girl in push ups sort of thing.

I was not feeling 100% today as I had a right hamstring issue that was irritating during the day and wowser did it hurt during my warm up and felt progressively worse.

Workout was this:

Regular warm-up: sit ups, back extentions, toe touches, samson stretch and farmer's walk with a 25lb plate (hadn't done these in awhile) - 3 rounds

Then:

50 walking lunges
50 sit ups
50 ball slams - 14lb medicine ball - I love these
50 dumbell swings 20lbs (this bothered my hamstring so I got switched to dumbell thrusters - 10lbs each hand)

Then do it again 40 times, then 30 times, then 20 times and then 10 times.

I got to the 30s round as I was moving kind of slow.

I'll be missing next weeks training session due to being in Fort McMurray, I'm going to look into the gym at the hotel though.

Tomorrow the plan is to hit the cardio at the corporate gym as I have yet to workout there. I'm thinking I'll have a fairly achy hamstring so I may just stick to the treadmill.

Not a lot more to tell today other than I am continuing to avoid stampede pancakes and any other not all that healthy stampede traditions.

Have a groovy day!
Hugs!

Bit odd

Bit random today as that's just the way the day is going.

It's a bit weird for me not to have chapters to read or an essay to write this weekend. It's just starting to hit me that I'm done all the classes for my certificate. All I do now is wait for the final mark.

So today has been about cleaning off the dvr and laundry plus packing for site and making sure my gym bag is ready for Wednesday so no thought is required when I get back on Tuesday.

It's been raining on and off so I think it's a good day to focus on flexibility - mainly yoga.

The other day I tried the new Bud Light Lime, it's awesome and I highly recommend it as a relatively figure friendly summer drink.

I tried Gain laundry detergent today as I've been less impressed with my PC brand. OMG I think I've officially switched it cleaned better and they're not kidding about the smell. I couldn't help smelling each piece of clothing as I folded it.

Bath and Body Works has officially arrived in Calgary and opened at Chinook Mall today. I'll wait until after Stampede to pop in and take a look.

Alright that's all I got.
Hope you're having a fabulous weekend ...until later.

Hugs!

I passed!!!!!!

Not sure if you all remember me going on about a big test that I had to write in May, this was the second time I was writing the NKE as I had just narrowly missed passing.
Well the results where due July 2, haven't got anything in the mail so out of curiosity I logged into the HRIA website and discovered I am now a CHRP candidate which means I passed the test. Whoo HOOOOOO that means I must soon start preparing for the 2nd Level test (NPPA) in October. OMG I'm so happy, I've been fixated on the number 73 lately so I wonder if I got 73% we shall see when the official results arrive in the mail.

Day with Dad has been great. Walmart was empty today as everyone is probably at Stampede. When Dad is in town it's a free day food wise so back on track tomorrow. He doesn't trust my cooking (which I find hysterically funny as I'm not sure what he thinks I survive on when I'm on my own) so he brings stuff and it's always lunch at KFC. No worries, I'm treating it like the Wendi plan - high today, low tomorrow.

At Earl's yesterday I had the spinach/berry salad, this is my new favourite and I'm going to try to make it at home. Spinach, strawberries, a little avocado, red onion, slivered almonds and a champagne vinaigrette, not sure what how to simulate the vinaigrette but I'll figure it our.

I was down 1lb today for my first challenge weigh in, while slightly disappointed it is a loss. I reminded myself it was snackapalooza week this week (hormones) so that's actually good as I'm normally up a few pounds before TOM.

Water consumption could be much better so that will be focus for the week ahead.

Talk to you later and hope you had a fantastic Saturday.
To all my American friends - Happy 4th of July.

Hugs!

And it begins....

Stampede that is, the 10 day cow folk festival that hits Calgary every year. Filled with midway rides, free pancakes all over the city daily and "goodness knows who thought of this" food options...not to mention a whole lot a beer.

I turned on the local news this morning and witnessed "Taco in a Bag" which is a small bag of doritoes opened length wise and filled with ground beef, sour cream and salsa. Also mentioned was the deep fried jelly beans - also available a deep fried oreo cookie.

The whole thing got kicked off by the parade this morning, I'm not kidding when I say the parade has never been rained on. I caught a few minutes here and there but I wasn't all that in to watching it.

I headed to Walmart first thing this morning to get a new spray nozzle for my garden hose (walked there and back) and then picked up the neighbour's dog for a 5K walk. In a few hours I'm off to dinner at Earl's to see two friends I haven't seen in a very long time.

I ran Earl's through The Daily Plate and a lot of there stuff is in there. I've kept calories fairly low throughout today not completely blow it tonight. I have no clue what I'm having though.

Trainer and I have scheduling issues, he got back to me too late on Thursday to say there was still a session (I had already done a mega workout and had emailed him Tuesday morning to ask the question). Now this coming Thursday he's away and the Thursday after that I'm in Fort McMurray. However he did ask if any other time worked for me this week so now I'm going on Wednesday after work.

Tomorrow my Dad is coming in for a visit and then Sunday will be back to regular schedule as I need to be in a cab at 4:30am.

Can't say I accomplished a lot with these days off but that's o.k to...sometimes it's just nice to have a break.

Hugs!

Challenge homework

Kudos to Amy for all the work she's doing on the 15 week Challenge.

Her "Whittle your middle workout" was killer. One note, as I've seen some of the pictures you've all posted, make sure your butt is down during plank, it shouldn't be higher than the rest of your body. If your butt is too high your not truly working the abs to their full extent.

While I've had loads of plank practice due to my trainer workouts, side plank always kills me. Plus the vertical crunches are fairly awkward for me. I did Amy's workout after I took the neighbours dog for an hour walk.

Recipe homework (picture above):

I love quesadilla's but the restaurant version can be super ugly. They use white tortillas and gobs of cheese.

So I make mine with a whole wheat tortilla, today I used the Ezekiel 6:9 version, a spritz of Pam in frying pan. Salsa is super low in calories so you can have more of that and normally I'd have a sliced tomato on the side but I don't have any. If I'm using WW tortillas I use two, the Ezekiel one's are huge so I only used one. I use the Kraft Part Skim Shredded Tex Mex blend. It's lower in fat than the other version. I only use 1/3 of a cup, I find that's enough. Add any lean protein you like or jazz it up with black beans. Depending on what you add it clocks in around 5pts as opposed to the 10-11 of a restaurant version. I like these also because there's super fast.

Not sure if I'll get the Ezekiel tortillas again, they reminded me of birdseed or sesame snaps.

The other day I finally tried the infamous Larabar Coconut Cream Pie bar and .....I don't like it. It seemed weird to me. So H, the next I see you I'll give you my remaining 4 to you. I do have a few other types to try so I'm not writing off Larabar as a whole.

I was also planning to mow the lawn today but rain clouds are forming so maybe I'll put that off until tomorrow.

I offered to walk the neighbours dog again tomorrow. I need to make sure to do an intense workout as I have dinner out tomorrow tonight. While I'll make good choices it's still not the same as eating at home.

Alright that's all I got for today.

Hugs!

Happy Canada Day!

I am ridiculously proud to be Canadian. I am a first generation Canadian as my parents immigrated from Germany and no one else in the family moved here.

So Happy Birthday Canada and a 142 years young.

Site was great this week and I told many about the 15 week challenge, so now I'll be watched for sure at lunch to make sure I'm picking healthy options.

Monday night went for a walk after supper then stupidly watched the Bachlorette. I was up at 3:30am and watched that show until 11pm. Stupid...I was already tired and that made me really tired on Tuesday.

Plus at 4am the alarm clock went off in my room to white noise. Apparently the last person in there tried to set it to a radio station. At any rate I didn't need to be up at 4am. Note to self check the alarm in the room. I use the alarm on the blackberry.

Had my fantastic friend C over for lunch as she's home from Toronto. It's so nice to see her.

Trying to make arrangements to take the neighbours dog for a walk tomorrow.

Alright you're up to date.

Later