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!!!

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!!!

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!!!

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!!

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!!!!

What were they thinking?

Got off the plane today to see families waiting for our arrival. There was one little girl I'd say she's about 3 and she was wearing platform wedge sandals. Yes I'm talking about a sandals with a high heel.

That made we think "What!", that can't be good for a leg that's still forming.

Alas on to other things, this trip was good and a wee bit sad knowing I won't be back for a month. I really enjoy the people I work with up there. I love my new office. The oatmeal and salad went really well. My dressing was a bit heavy on the vinegar/citrus so next time I'll add some spice perhaps.

For lunch today I didn't like the look of any of the premade sandwiches. Recently I found out the peanut butter/ jelly premade sandwiches have butter on them. So instead and to keep the points reasonable I grabbed the highest fibre bread that was next to the toaster at breakfast and took one pack of Jiff peanut butter and a pack of jam. I toasted the bread at lunch and had my own pb/j sandwich. I probably could have just stuck to peanut butter and enjoyed just as well.

I'm still zonked so I had some edamame for supper and I'll be heading to bed early again. I have massively busy days ahead of me in my attempt to liberate myself by 2pm on Thursday. Workouts have not been the priority they should me as I need every spare minute lately.

I'm debating on weighing in Thursday morning and waiting until my normal Saturday instead the following week. I'll decide tomorrow. I just feel like this week has been off and I'm looking forward to after Labour day when routine is again established.

I heard that by the time I go back to site the big gym will finally be finished which means workouts can resume at site as I'm not fighting for a treadmill.

I was zonked last night and lights out by 8:15pm. Of course I woke up at 1:30am and tossed and turned.

I hope you guys had a fabulous last few days. I'll be back to tomorrow and then it will be cone of silence until I come back from my Dad's.

Zen Day

It's been overcast all day with periods of rain. Is your food intake impacted by weather? Mine is, whenever it's grey it makes me want to snack.

To avoid this I have scheduled my food today. I had breakfast (oatmeal, 1tbsp brown sugar, 1c milk) when I got up at 8am and then I plotted lunch (1 egg, 3 egg whites, mushrooms, red onion scrambled with salsa) to be at noon, a hot chocolate/coffeer at 3pm and dinner (1c spaghetti, 1/2 tomato sauce, light laughing cow and at turkey bite plus a skinny cow ice cream sandwich) no later than 6pm.

Last night I had a snack altercation and it was the curse of the 2pt. There were multiple 2pts snacks as I was in search of satisfaction. I only wound up having a latte for breakfast and I think that sent me on a wonky path. No matter that's what those flexpoints are for.

Today I want to stay within my points and so far so good.

Apart from that a pretty laid back, zen day. I've mainly been reading all day. I didn't think a bad idea to treat today as a rest day as my week will be a wee bit crazy and I have such an early day tomorrow.

I did pack my food for tomorrow so I only need to toss it into my duffle bag.

I've also packed my food

Here is breakfast for tomorrow. In the bag is a pack of 100% Oatmeal, 1 tbsp brown sugar, a 1/3c measuring cup and that 325ml chocolate milk bottle will be filled with 1c of 1% Milk.  All together 4pts.

The salad is put together along with a homemade dressing. In the salad is romaine lettuce, shredded carrot, chopped snap peas, tomato, red onion, chives, 1/2c chickpeas and 1/4c corn. All together roughly 3pts.


The dressing is 1 tsp olive oil, 3 tsp rice vinegar, a dollop of dijon mustard, a wee bit of agave nectar probably 1/8 tsp, a little squeeze of lemon, freshly ground pepper and a little salt.

Dressing and salad comes to about 4pts. I'll also bring a granola bar (2pts) as an afternoon snack as dinner won't be till about 6:30pm.

I'll also have my morning coffee (2pts) when I get there.

That will leave 9pts for supper which will work well since I have no clue what's on the menu for tomorrow.


I should clear some space off my pvr and catch up on True Blood.

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday.

Hugs!!!

Back on track -

I had mixed feelings at weigh in today, I was very happy to see a 2.4 loss almost getting rid of all my "vacation" weight that I gained. On the other hand I was a wee disappointed in myself for not keeping it together the whole week. I really, really, really want to break past the 168 range. I've come back to it 3 times now.

Yesterday after work I got invited to go for drinks which was fine. I thought I'll have a diet coke and vodka (2pts) which I did. Then the food came out and I had potato skins for the first time in a very long time. They weren't giant potato skins but I had 3 as they came on a platter with multiple things not the wisest food choice. Then I had to get a pint of dark beer to go with that. Funny that the meeting topic was "Say No to NO". That's the one thing that sucks about Saturday morning weigh in as it puts a dent in your Friday after work activities.

Alas I don't go out often so I'm not willing to move my weigh in day just yet plus 2.4 is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. I need 1.9lbs a week to get to my OP-LBD goal by Dec. 11 so 2.4 is smashing.

This week will be a bit different. I head back to site on Monday but this time I need to pack my breakfast and lunch. The bus from the plane goes to my new office space first and the camp kitchen is not within walking distance of the new office space. There's a shuttle that runs every half hour but that won't work. I'll probably get to my desk around 7:30 am, shuttle starts at 8am and I just foresee not getting a whole lot done. I have a whole lot to do.

So I'm going to bring a pack of 100% oatmeal, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, a 1/3c measuring cup and a cup of milk. For lunch I'm going with a Super Salad ala Bitch Cakes. I'm not doing the exact same thing but I picked up the ingredients while grocery shopping today and I will assemble tomorrow so I can just toss it in my bag Monday morning. I'll show you the end result tomorrow.

After this week I don't go back to site until the end of September so then I really need focus on the bring lunch to work thing. I'll think about that when I get there.

The other way my week gets complicated is I've decided to give myself an extended long weekend by taking Friday as a flexday and I need to be out the door at work by 2pm on Thursday to get on a bus to my Dad's house. I get to see the cats and I'm excited about that. I'm curious if they'll remember me from the summer. If by chance my new washer and dryer arrive by next week that will be cancelled. So we'll see what happens. I already bought my bus ticket online and printed it - which I love no long lines for me. So I didn't do a very big grocery shop today as I'll only be home on Tues night to Thurs morning.

I've decided to weigh in Thursday morning downtown as I won't be back in Calgary until Sunday and miss my regular meeting. The 7am weigh in is more similar to my normal weigh in and I'm at work by 6:30am which is just a couple of blocks away. This means mega focus if I want a 2lb loss 2 days shy of my normal weigh in.

I also decided to change my weightloss tracker above to reflect my original start weight when I first walked in the doors of WW. It helps me to know I'm past the halfway mark of 64lb goal. The list of weigh ins on the side reflect the re-commitment in January of this year.

Boy I had a lot to say today. Now it's on to laundry and dishes and then perhaps a walk.

I hope you're having a fabulous Saturday.

Hugs!!!!

The week is almost over

Hello my friends,
I got distracted by books last night so no blogging. I finally renewed my library card and paid my 55 cent fine. I was buying too many books. I usually read them once and then give them away or they collect dust. I found the new Patricia Briggs at the library which is what I had my nose in. I picked out 7 books on hold including a book on Volumetrics.

It's been so hot in Calgary, it's 31 today and that just makes me mega lethargic. The desire to work out goes out the window. I've had a few iffy food moments this week as well and that's just due to not exactly being organized.

This weekend I'm picking up some healthy options to keep in my office at camp like cup of soup and healthy snacks that don't need refrigeration. I'm so happy to finally have somewhere to keep stuff. I go next week and then not again until the end of September but it will be good to know it's there.

A goal for next week is I need to really plan each day from food to exercise. I'm really good at planning my work day now I just need to translate that to OP-LBD. The good news is I've been tracking, it's good for me to also see where I go wrong. Next week I'm going to track times again. At one point I'd write down when I ate as it helpled see where I needed snacks or how long something actually kept me full. I work long days so this will be helpful.

I'll admit it's been a rough start to OP-LBD but not as bad as the week before.

Have you seen Anti-Jared's challenge? I like that it's not a contest. I've always thought of weight loss as a personal battle. It doesn't matter how fast you lose or how much you lose in a specific a time. To me it's all about building the skills that will help me stay healthy for life. This is not over when I hit goal, we often talk about that in my meeting. You don't go back to all the behaviours before you started your steps to a healthier you, you must adapt, absorb and move on.  I've been sort of doing this challenge all along, I post my current weight and my weigh ins. If someone gains some sort of inspiration from that that's fantastic but I also get a little satisfaction watching that number going down. I remember when I had 64lbs to lose to get to goal, now it's 31.2, that's less than half of the original number. I should feel proud of that.

We must celebrate our successes both little and big as every step is taking you to a healthier, more powerful you.

Hugs!!!

What are the odds

At 3am this morning fire alarms went off at camp, at first I thought it was neighbours alarm clock then I realized what it was. I pulled on a pair of jeans over my pjs, grabbed my blackberry and ID then headed out.

Weren't we a happy group standing outside at that time and everyone is dishevelled and has crazy hair.

Later I found out it was probably due to some jackass smoking inside which is forbidden. Congratulations you idiot for waking 800 people up.

I got to move into the newer building on site today and I was super excited. No longer do I have to sit in a cubicle in the middle of a hallway where people take my phone, chair, power bag and network cable quite frequently. I was just about to pack up my stuff to catch the plane home when guess what....a fire drill.

What are the odds? There I stood at the muster point watching the bus I'm supposed to be on drive off. Now I start to worry a little as I didn't want to miss the plane. It's not so easy to get on another one as spots fill up quickly.  I'm lucky that I work with fabulous people as I immediately had a ride offered but it turned out I made it on a bus anyway. One of my managers sent one of her staff with me to give me a ride when we saw people waiting for an airport bus. He was so nice he waited with me just in case I still needed a ride.

I can think of a time where a day like this would have sent me straight to the Haagen Daz but it didn't today. I didn't have any snacks on the plane. I got home made the dinner I planned. Food wise did pretty well this trip. I didn't get any workout in yesterday apart from walking from meeting to meeting. Today it was walking circles around the new building as it has a very complicated floor plan. I'm going to bed early tonight as I'm zonked so no gym for me.

Weighed myself when I got home and 167.8 stared back at me. That's freakin awsome.

On to day 5.

Hugs!!!!

Day two

Couldn't think of a catchy title today but it is day two of OP -LBD.

Today I got to wake up without an alarm..ah bliss. Sunday's are pretty much the only day that happens. I stayed home today and focused on some housework.

Today's workout was courtesy myyogaonline.com and I did the "Be Here Now Hatha Class". It's been awhile since I've done 60min of yoga. There was just one part that I found a little outside of my ability but I enjoyed the whole thing. I found a few more practices to add to my favourites as well.

Today's activity gets me 2 activity points.

I think yoga will by activity tomorrow as well as my travel mat is already in my camp bag. The cab is booked for tomorrow mornings very early trip to the plane as well.

Right now I'm making supper and I have a chicken cutlet (3pts) baking in the oven and some spaghetti (4pts) and spaghetti sauce (1pt) on the stove. I've been very good food wise today.

Day two on plan. I stepped on the scale this morning and it showed me back in the 169s. I wish there was a travel scale I could take to camp. I like to weigh daily as it keeps me focused and I find the way the body fluctuates absolutely fascinating.

Alright my friends not sure if I'll be blogging from Northern Alberta tomorrow but if not I hope you all have an amazing few days.

Hugs!!!!

Knowing is not enough, you must apply

This was the quote of the day at my WW meeting today and it's written by Goethe. On the paper it said "German writer". I would describe Goethe more as a German philosopher as I read loads of his work while studying German in University.

At any rate it struck a note in me. I think we all know what to do to lose these pounds it's simply calories in/ calories out and activity vs the couch. Well maybe not so simple What complicates matters are emotions, situations and the fact we have to eat. It's not like we can walk away from food. It's about applying what we've learned.

My WW sabbatical got me a 2.2 gain today and I'm o.k with that. I was making a conscious decision to not follow the plan or track or even really get in any activity so today I faced up to my 10 days of throwing the plan out the window. My weigh in lady asked me if I felt bad about the gain. I told her no, life is a series of decisions and moments. This is just a moment and just a blip in time. I had fun and I don't feel bad about that. I now focus on applying the knowledge.

I picked December 11 as the end date for Operation Little Black Dress (OP-LBD). I have no idea what the date the company Christmas party is on but that date is also 16 weeks from today. I need to lose 1.95lbs per week to make goal on that day. It's doable but I'll be thrilled if I get hit goal by the end of this year so that's another 3 weigh ins after Dec 11. However the goal is 16 weeks from now. Weight Watchers will no longer be my favourite charity.

I bought a new 3 month tracker as I wanted to start with a clean slate. This is a restart. I've had plenty of restarts and I've needed every one of them I'm planning to make this one my last one. I alo put together a new spreadsheet to help me track the data.

I also bought a box of the chocolate caramel 1pt bars. I figure that's a good alternative to my recent habit of buying a chocolate bar everytime the fundraising snack cart came around.

After I got home from WI I was exhausted and had a nap. I rarely nap but it was awesome. After the nap I headed outside for a mega walk as it's been awhile since I did that.

1:11:14/ 8.23K/ 412 calories burned/ Pace 8:40-8:12/ HR 135-149

I also walked to and from weigh in/ grocery shopping netting me an additional 200 calories burned. I tracked everything today and ate 4 of the 6 activity points earned. So Day one of OP -LBD done.

These are my goals for this week:
No eating 2 hrs before bed
2L of water per day
Track everything
Activity daily (this can be cardio, yoga, exercise class, strength) minimum time 30min.

I really want to focus on the yoga not just for the physical but the mental/emotional.

I've been working an average of 11 hrs per day this week and that needs to stop. I just need to organize myself at work a bit better so I can also focus on exercise. It doesn't bother me to put in the time at work but it can not distract me from this operation. There are a few classes at Spa Lady I'd like to check out. I've enjoyed Zumba but there's also a step class and something called Iron Reps. All of these start around 6:30pm and there is no reason I wouldn't be able to go at that time.

Planning is key in all of this, if the weather is bad I go inside and if the weather is good I go outside.

Fall is so in the air, I actually saw a few yellow leaves on my walk (could be due to the string of hotter days and no water) and it's getting darker and cooler in the mornings.

I love fall. I love the colours, the clothes and not to mention the new tv season.

Now on to day two of OP-LBD and it's just one day at a time after that.

I hope you had a super fabulous Saturday.

Hugs!!

Count your blessings

Calgary is in the process of building the west leg of our C-Train (otherwise known as light rail transit). When I first saw the yellow thing in the picture I thought it was part of a bridge. Then I realized it's actually a crane and it's placing cement blocks into formation. It's kind of funky watching it progress as this crane keeps shifting along.

Today was a bit rough as I discovered something that wasn't exactly fair and of course I'm the one who it's being unfair to. This gets to me but I realized there's not a whole lot I can do about it. So I made a conscious decision to count my blessings. I might not be able to do anything about this but I'm a wee bit wiser than yesterday that's for sure. I once watched this parenting show that said choose your battles with your kids. Well I'm going to adopt that as to choose what hill I'll die on and this is not it.

I'm strangely looking forward to weigh in tomorrow. I'm not expecting good results but I'm happy to be back in routine. Tomorrow starts no excuses and my restart in a sense. I've had my little vacation now it's back to focused weight loss. Today I just focused on eating when I was hungry. Novel concept I know but it was interesting to listen to my body instead of going by the clock.

I hope you all had a fabulous Friday.

Hugs!!!

Strange how things work out

Today I have two tales of how strange things sometimes work out.

The other day I was having lunch with a co-worker. I did them a massive favour they bought me lunch. We went to a restaurant near work and wound up waiting a long time for our food. The conversation was good and we didn't really notice. The waiter apologized profusely and then the manager came and told us that it was on the house.

I've now been waiting for my new washer and dryer for 7 weeks. Yesterday I emailed my sales guy to find out what was going on. I find out today the models I bought have been discontinued with no notice to the place I bought it from. The only gas dryer option is the top of the line one that retails for $4000. I'm assuming he meant the washer and dryer together but still that's more than double that I paid for the original. Then I'm told the supplier is sending enough of the new ones to cover the orders for the old ones with no additional cost. So now I'm getting a really nice super fancy washer and dryer. I might start offering to do people's laundry assuming I'll know how to turn the thing on. Apparently these are also being rushed out so hopefully I will no longer need to plan my laundry over 3 days as opposed to a few hours. The colour is called champagne. These will officially be the fanciest things I own.

On the weight loss front I've been avoiding the scale and not tracking. I'm on WW vacation at the moment. Oh it's not going to last in fact I think I needed a little recess to truly buckle down. I haven't been going crazy or anything and stuffing myself with junk. I'm preparing to bring the diligence back.

What's kind of funny is I've been getting a lot of compliments lately.

Alright my friends that's all I got for today.

Hugs!!!

Before and After

The other day when I got home from work I turned on the tv to catch the news and I saw the new Jenny Craig commercial with Sara Rue. The photo is courtesy of Parade Magazine. I stopped in my tracks when I saw this. In the after picture she's down 50lbs and looks incredible.

I've always like her as an actress as I found her approachable and funny. I'm not sure if that was because she was the bigger girl and being a bigger girl I felt a kinship.

Seeing this transformation got me thinking. As I've told you all before my mission is to hit goal by December and lately I've had a difficult time getting back on plan after my foodapalooza in Vegas. TOM isn't helping but I can't use that at as excuse. I've been on this weight loss battle for a freaking long time. I don't begrudge that as I honestly believe you can only be successful when you're ready to commit to the work. I do believe I have commitment issues as my habit is to be on and off the wagon. To get to goal in December I need to make a mental, physical and spiritual commitment to making it happen.

I know I'm ready but I'm a bit scared. I think the chubby factor has been a bit of security blanket as it allowed me to be invisible. Part of me wanted to be invisible because I was fat but the other part liked the flying under the radar. If I don't draw attention to myself I can't be disappointed. I realize that's whacked in the head and it's taken me awhile to shake that mentality. I do want to be healthy, live a good life and become a fashionista (had to have one shallow reason). 

This picture was taken a few years ago when I went to Vegas with some girl friends. This was in FAO Schwartz and I saw that stuffed animal boa and had to channel Brittany Spears.

The picture to the right was taken this last trip. The background is the tram station that runs from Bellagio to Aria. It just called out as the perfect background for the "white outfit". I have these pictures on my facebook and one of my friends posted that I looked slender. I do see  a difference especially in the tummy area and hips. The shorts in the old picture were a size 16 and now I'm a size 12 bordering on a size 10.

My progress might not be quick but progress is progress.

It's time to shake off the excuses and focus on the target and kill it.  My next trip to Vegas in March will be the opportunity to add to the goal weight wardrobe.

Operation Little Black Dress is on!!!!

Hugs!!!

Vegas Recap and the yearly physical

Hello my friends,
While I loved Vegas it is good to be home and the weather here isn't so bad at 26C. Landed at midnight and by the time I got through customs and in a cab I was home by 1:30am.

Let me start with a little recap of Vegas.
This is a picture of me and P in our white outfits on his birthday.

Thursday:
All my flights were on time and great. When I got to my Vancouver gate I thought I had walked into a Lululemon convention and it turns out there were a couple of Lululemon employees coming back from some sort of conference.

Met P at the airport in Vegas as our planes pretty much came in at the same time. Checked in at Caesars Palace and upgraded to a bigger room for an extra $40 per night. Then we headed over to Margaritaville where I had the taco salad and Havanas Bananas (kind of a banana pin colada). We split a key lime pie that was superb. Then it was off to Ben Shermann where P shopped his little heart out. I wandered around the Miracle Mile Shops in search of a white skirt but no luck. I did discover the Mounds chocolate bar and fell in love. Thank goodness it's not available in Canada or I'd have a problem.

We tried to get tickets to Donnie and Marie but discovered all the performances for the week were cancelled.

Friday:
We had breakfast at McDs where I tried the fruit smoothie (not bad) then we went to the Liberace Museum. I found this a wee depressing. Liberace was obviously full of life, glitz and glam. The museum while trying to maintain his legacy came off as tired. The pianos, cars and costumes are pretty amazing but not kept well. The clothes are faded and the piano keys are yellow.

We then headed to Target where spirits improved found a cheap pair of purple Converse runners for $29.99, and 100 SPF spray sunscreen and I bought a bag of individually wrapped Mounds (which I tossed in the garbage the next day as it's a total trigger food for me). P came across a white skirt which was perfect and $19. After all that we wandered over to Fashion Show Mall and shared a tostada pizza and piece of red velvet cake at California Pizza Kitchen.

We went to a tix4tonight booth to get tickets to something for Saturday. We found they had the best selection. We settled on Cirque's Viva Elvis. We took the cheapest tickets at $61, which would have been $99 if we bought it at Cirque's box office. We then went straight to Aria to hand in our Tix4Tonight tickets for the real tickets (which you have to do).

That night we went to Serendipity's for Oreo frozen hot chocolate, yummy but not worth $11. We then met some of P's twitter friends for drinks.

Saturday:

At around 1am we celebrated the arrival of P's birthday with Hello Kitty sparkling wine. It was alright but way better with ice.

After some hours of sleeping we decided to go the pool at around 10am. Almost every lawn chair was taken as we discovered locals get in free and anyone not staying in the hotel can pay to get in. That was a bit disappointing as it looked like people ran down to the pool to claim a chair and then went off. We looked into renting a smaller cabana and they only rent for full days on the weekend so that's $300 - we passed. We finally found two spots but it was way too hot to sit directly in the sun so we gave up after about half an hour.

We then went for brunch at Mesa Grill in Caesar's and I had the best scrambled eggs I've ever eaten I had the Scrambled Eggs Chiliquiles with Roasted Tomatillo Sauce...sooo amazingly good. P had the Spicy Scrambled Eggs and said it was the best meal he's ever eaten. We shared the toasted coconut cake which was pretty spectacular as well.

We explored at more of the strip and headed back to the hotel for a rest before we had to leave for the show.

We weren't really hungry for the rest of the day so we just grabbed some mixed nuts from the gift shop.

Viva Elvis was entertaining but not on my list of favourite Cirque du Soleil shows. There was far too much singing and dancing and not enough Cirque performances. It was a rather confusing show as so much was going on at once. In the background a giant screen showing images of Elvis' life and there would 3 things happening on stage. You didn't know where to look. By far my favourite is still "O" and I'd really like to see KA.

After the show we headed to the Caesar's food court and had Mexican food and then headed back to the room as we were both pretty tired.

Sunday:

As this was leaving day we dropped off our bags the bell desk and headed to Cheescake Cafe for brunch. We shared a caesar salad and piece of Oreo cheesecake. Then we went off to check out the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. It was neat but crowded with people.

After that we just wandered around and made our way back to Caesar's Palace for some gelato before I had to head to the Airport. Got to McCarran and disovered P's flight was leaving from Terminal 2 and mine from Terminal 1 so we said good bye there. I just read my book until I got on the plane home.

Overall the trip was fun, I seriously wondered if I was going to fit into the shorts I had planned to wear home after all the fabulous food and drink we had. I did and they weren't tight either. The 43C was rather uncomfortable as everytime we left an air conditioned casino and went outside it was like walking into an oven. I achieved my goal of not changing colour -Neutrogena spray 85 SPF rocks.

I keep forgetting I go back in March with different friends for another birthday. I've never been to Vegas in March so that will be interesting. I've been in January before and didn't care for it as it was a little too cool and all the pools are closed. That trip will be quite a bit different. P and I have been friends for almost 20 years. The March trip will be with the birthday girl (my co-worker), her best friend and her sister. There's talk of the 4 of us sharing a room. I'm not so onboard about that and might get my own room but that's many months away.

This morning I woke up at 7:30am on my own but had the alarm set for 8:00am just in case. Physical went well I was told to keep an eye on my heart murmur for any changes as apparently that can happen (I had never heard of that before) and to keep up the vitamins. My doctor said "At my age regular blood work is a good idea". Since I was there I just popped over to the lab to do the tests and get it over with. Then I went grocery shopping loaded up on fruit, veggies and lean protein. My scale and the doctor's scale show me that I gained about 3lbs in Vegas.

From this moment forward it's all about Operation Little Black Dress and goal by Christmas.

P and I had a lot of conversations about life. He's a little wigged out about turning 40 and I'm a little wigged out about facing the same in 2 years. We analyzed our lives and where we are now and where we want to be. I don't think either of us had felt more mortal until now.

I know for me my number one goal is goal weight as this is the shadow that's dogged me for far too long.

So vacation is over and now it's back to work.

Looking forward to catching up on what you all have been up to.

Hugs!!!

Vegas - damn it's hot

Hello my friends

Thought I'd try posting from the phone.

So far the trip has been stupid hot with dome seriously bad eating. Fabulous food not that great for you.

Had the most amazing scrambled eggs at Mesa for brunch today.

Heading to Cirque's Viva Elvis tonight. Bought the tickets on the strip from Tix4tonight and saved $30.

Looking forward to coming home and cooler temperatures.

Will post again when I'm home.

Hugs!!!

Vegas T-15 hours

Many people asked me today if I was excited about Vegas. I had so much to do today that I actually tried not to think about it.

I weighed in (up 0.4), I'm not bothered as it wasn't my usual routine. I ate breakfast this morning and I wasn't wearing my weigh in uniform plus it was 3 days before I normally weigh in.

I got my American money, I'm packed and I just finished painting my toe nails. My friend the cab driver is booked to pick me up tomorrow morning. At 1pm-ish tomorrow I'll be in Vegas (must stop in Vancouver first) and it will 40 degrees. Now I'm excited as work is packed away and the blackberry is staying home.

Got home to find the computer backpack I ordered from Lululemon. When I went to the store there were none thankfully no charge for shipping. I'm already in love with all the pockets.

I won't be blogging over the next few days but I do plan on taking some pics to post.

Miss Sarah Lou - dinner sounds awesome, if it works for your schedule we'll coordinate I'm back on Sunday.

I hope you all have a fabulous 4 days and I'll be back on Monday.

My Vegas count down above will be replaced with something new then as well.

Hugs!!!!

Not enough hours in the day

Oy vey, I'm busy, stupidly crazy exhaustingly busy. I get the feeling I'm going to feel behind until Mar 2011.

I'm also a bit rushed lately as not only am I wickedly busy at work I'm leaving for Vegas on Thursday.

Tonight I got home had a bit of a rest then mowed the lawn and weeded the flower beds because it wasn't raining. Every day I planned to this last week it rained. I had thought to do it tomorrow but then realized I need to pack. There is a thunderstorm watch but thankfully I got it all done without a rain drop falling on my head.

I actually had to book going to weigh in, going to the bank and going for lunch in my outlook calendar at work so no one booked me for a meeting.

Today someone tried to book me for a meeting and I had a full day. They tell me "I see you're available at 2pm can we meet then". I had to respond "I'll be on a plane". I then booked myself in the air in my outlook calendar so no one tried to book me for a meeting.

When I get back from Vegas I'm going to schedule my life so I can stay on top of my crazy work and not forget about my commitment to the little black dress.

I can't say I'm excited about Vegas yet as I still have one more day of work with multiple meetings. I find meeting irritating as they take me away from work I need to be doing. I have written a pack list so tomorrow when I get home I will pack. I'm leaving the work blackberry at home. I normally take it with wherever I go. Not this time, I fill face the 800 emails when I get home.

I have to tell  you about this strange event I witnessed in the woman's washroom at camp. There are two paper cups sitting on top of the paper towel dispenser. I never really paid much attention to it until I see a woman come in, take a cup and then disappear into the toilet cubicle. I had no idea why she needed a cup in the toilet cubicle. Then the other day I see her come out of the cubicle with the cup and she puts it back on top of the towel dispenser. It's just strange.

Today for lunch I grabbed a corned beef premade sandwich from the camp kitchen. At lunch I open up the sandwich because I usually take half the meat off. I discovered the corned beef was super fatty which immediately turned me off. So I tossed the meat, kept the bread (nothing on it) and went in search of something to put on it. I finally found a pack of jam. I could have gone to the camp kitchen for lunch but I managed to make my packed lunch work. Yeah me.

I will weigh in tomorrow at noon to see if I made my goal of being at lowest weight to date before Vegas.

I hope you guys had a fabulous few days.

Hugs!!!

Operation Hottie - Phase two

Hello my friends,

I was out the door by 8am this morning for a mega walk, did my laundry, hung it up to dry (still no dryer) and then I decided to head to my local mall and walked there plus back.

I wanted to check out Sport Chek. As Vegas is going to be killer hot I thought it not a bad idea to look for outdoorsy shorts that will handle heat. You know how I was saying I despise clothes shopping well I quite enjoyed myself in Sport Chek. I do enjoy shopping for sporty clothes.

I also popped into Walmart and got a size smaller exercise pants and crop for $17 each. I keep having to pull them up as they are now slipping off a little.

I ran into Safeway and got a box of Praeventia bars. One of the WW members brought them up yesterday. They're 2pts for a pack (2 mini bars in a pack). I go the cranberry/ pomegranate one and they are delicious. I think a step above a regular granola bar.

I also picked up fish for dinner. I rarely if ever eat fish but at my WW meeting there was talk of the coconut encrusted tilapia (5pts) at Safeway. It was described as mild and very tasty so I'm trying it for dinner with some steamed aspergus. I'm only home today and Wednesay before I'm off to Vegas so I didn't go a grocery shop this week.

My soon to be trip to Vegas was the original inspiration for my "Operation Hottie" and as that's gone alright with one more weigh in to go. I need an extra push for after Vegas. The ultimate result of Operation Hottie will be goal and the plan is to hit that by the end of the year.

I thought of phase two of my Operation Hottie - Operation LBD otherwise known as little black dress. My company is hosting a giant company wide Christmas party this year. Last year it was little parties by department. I want to be shazaam for this party in a killer dress at goal weight.

I've been thinking a lot of how I'm going to approach the plan in Vegas. Do I throw it out the window or do I stay mindful? This weight loss journey is about lifestyle so I'm going to focus on staying on plan. I'll still have fun but not go crazy. That's the other reason to have a phase two of Operation Hottie - to serve as inspiration.

I am noticing more changes as I get closer to goal. Clothes are getting looser and the other day in Zumba I didn't recognze myself. There's a mirror on one side of the room and when I first saw my reflection (body only) I didn't think it was me at first glance.

This week is going to be crazy leading up to my trip. I head back to site tomorrow so I need to pack my bag and be in bed early.

I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.

Hugs!!

I faced...the mall

Hello my friends,
I was wiped yesterday so no posting. I definitely started to feel the effects of my foray into hot yoga as I could totally feel it in my shoulders and core.

Weigh in was down 2.4 so I'm now at my lowest weight of this round of WW so far which is 168.6. Next weigh in is Wednesday at noon as I'll be in Vegas on my normal weigh in day. This means no interruptions in the plan.

I walked to weigh in and back, changed and then walked back again as the bus stop is next to my WW meeting. I figured it got a bit more activity in.  I braved Chinook mall in search of shorts and a white outfit for P's birthday. I don't wear a lot of white.

I also went to Lululemon and used that gift card. I picked up 3 tanks (also good for Vegas), 2 headbands, a key cuff and a yoga dvd. That only came to $225 - that's store sure ain't cheap but the stuff is super good quality. I have $24 left on my giftcard that can buy 2 more headbands perhaps.

I got one pair of shorts at Eddie Bauer size 10, 2 pairs at Jacobs size 12 and tried a Ralph Lauren dress on (size 12) that I couldn't get past my knees at The Bay.  Why can't clothing manufacturers have standard sizing?

Popped downtown as the Roots in Chinook wasn't there. Got 2 t-shirts and I picked up a pair of white Havanan flip flops for the white outfit at Soft Moc. Pretty much everything I got was on sale.

My white outfit is now a white pair of shorts, white flip flops, a white short sleeved cardigan from Jacobs and a white tank top. All pieces can be broken up and worn with something else.

Pretty succesful considering I despise clothes shopping. I love clothes in magazines and on other people but the process of buying them for myself not so much.  Especially the trying stuff on part. It's the clothes off and on and off and on that I find tiresome. If the store is un-organized then it really bugs me (I'm talking to you The Bay). I love online shopping, make-up shopping and book shopping, heck I even like hardware stores. I need a Rachel Zoe or a stylist. Go pull things for me that you think I'll like then I'll try them all on in one location.

Tomorrow I must do housework and start to put together my pack list for Vegas.

Hope you're enjoying your Saturday!

Hugs!!

One week to Vegas and my first Hot Yoga class

Hello my friends,

It was a ridiculously busy day today and I barely spent time at my desk. I was on the move all day from one end of the city the next and didn't leave the office till 5pm (I start at 6:30am).

Got home changed and waited for C who was coming at 7pm to get me. Then it hit me that I need to pick up some American money and I better do that tomorrow as next week I'm at site Mon & Tue and then off to Vegas on Thursday. Tomorrow is stupidly busy as well so worst case scenario I do it Wednesday.

Now on to Hot Yoga. OMG it's a hot room. They say it's heated to a 105 degrees that's 40 degrees celsius.
I started sweating just laying on my mat before the class started. It was a 70min class I lasted about 50min. Then I got a little nauseous and plunked myself back down on the mat. Now Vegas should also be about 40 degrees but one can always step into air conditioning.

The poses were pretty standard but the sweat dripping gushing off every part of my body was a new experience. Watching the sweat drip flow off of everyone else was a new experience also. Every article of clothing on my body was drenched and rather awkward to take off when I got home. I have never been that sweaty and that includes during a marathon. Thank goodness I owned a mat size Yogitoes Skidless . During non hot classes I love the hand size as it's usually only my hands that slide around. The Yogitoes was soaked as well at the end but my mat was dry.

Lululemon was well represented in that class that's for sure.

Afterwards C asked me if I'd go again and I said I would. Oh there was a point where I thought I am never doing this again but I think that had more to do with the teacher. She was very agressive and I didn't jive with that. She doesn't normally teach this class on Thursdays and I don't think I'd go to any of her classes. I like my yoga instructurs to be gentle and guiding not like a drill sergent.  C told me I was doing better than some of the other people which was nice. Yoga is not a competition but I'm glad I didn't look like a complete idiot.

I will definitely pick up a few tanks and a pair of yoga shorts. I sort of envied the boys as they could take their shirts off.

Tomorrow I want to make a bit of a list for my clothes shopping trip on Saturday so I can stay focused and also not forget anything.

Weight wise this morning I stepped on the scale and I was the lowest weight I've ever been. That was a surprise. Now we just need to keep it together to weigh in.

Hope you guys had a fabulous Thursday.

Hugs!!!

Damn the Angry Birds

The Ipod/Iphone game not the ones outside. A friend showed me this game today on her Iphone today. On the bus home I downloaded the free version to check it out. It's highly addictive.

I did go home and change into workout clothes as I was going to Zumba tonight. I had a plan to be there on time and then I started to play this game. Then I realized I needed my polar heart rate monitor and for the life of me couldn't remember where I put it.

After about 10min of frantic searching I remembered it was in my camp bag. Now I was running late for Zumba. I did one heck of a speed walk to the gym and got there about 2min in.

What I love about this workout is it's fun. I swear I had a smile on my face the entire time and burst out laughing when Hava Nagila came on. It's a tune probably most likely found at hockey games and weddings. Apparently it's from Zumba Golden (the one designed for seniors). All I can say I hope I can do that when I'm a senior as it was a very fast dance. Of course my favourites are the salsa and merengue, I think it's because my Great - Grandmother was spanish. I never met her of course but it must be in the roots as I totally perk up when I here this music.

Food was mucho crappy today. Starting with that stupid snack cart. I'm was smokin' busy today and that's when snacking gets dangerous because I'm not mindfully eating. The good news I earned 8 AP tonight with the walk to and from Zumba and the workout itself.

Plus I expect I'll be burning significant calories tomorrow at hot yoga. I'm thinking of wearing my heart rate monitor. I will be wearing my workout capris and my lightest most breathable workout top (very short sleeves, deep V neck) that's about the best I can do. This may be my one and only time doing hot yoga.

If I really like it then I'll invest in a more appropriate wardrobe. I am happy I own a full length Yogitoes skidless towel as that will come in handy I'm sure.

I have a stupid busy day tomorrow so there will be not time for snacking as I'm racing across town from meeting to another. I'm trying to figure out when I'll have lunch right now my only open spot is 2pm tomorrow. I've alread blocked it off in my outlook calendar just in case. A granola bar will go in the workbag tomorrow.

Alright my friends I'm zonked. Hope your Wednesday was stellar.

Hugs!!

All dressed up - no where to go

On my way home from work today I decided I was going to go to Zumba tonight. I got home had a little dinner, got dressed and then logged on to the gym website to check when it starts...there is no Zumba tonight. It's tomorrow, alas instead I rolled out my mat and did 40 min of yoga.

That was just fine as it was nice to be zen for awhile.

It's official - I'm signed up for a hot yoga class on Thursday...that would be 75min of hot yoga. My co-worker convinced me and a part of me is a wee freaked out. I'm not pretty when I sweat which is why I'm quite fond of working out on my own. I'm focused on keeping an open mind.

Co-worker who I will now call C told me to wear tank. I don't own any tanks so I think a short sleeved, v-necked technical t-shirt should suffice. I do intend to pick up a few tanks with my Lululemon gift card but that's not till Saturday. I looked up some reviews of the place we're going and it's described as beautiful and clean..awesome.

At work we're taking part in the Heart & Stroke foundations Big Bike event. Today the intrepid minds of the office unveiled a fundraising idea called "the heart cart". It's a mail cart filled with candy, chocolate, gum etc. Halloween size is 25 cents, full size is $1.

I bought a few halloween size twizzlers, then later a pack of smokehouse almonds and then a hersheys almond bar...yeah I need to stay clear of that thing. I'm o.k with individual wrapped things as I can eat one. Once I open a chocolate bar I eat the chocolate bar. I can't just take a little and leave it for the next day. I did think it was rather ironic that we're raising money for the Heart and Stroke foundation by selling crap. Yet junk food does sell. I mentioned this at one point and I got the answer "if you're stressed a chocolate bar can help". Hmmm...yes and this why North America has an obesity crisis. Oh well, no ones twisting any arms and everthing in moderation is perfectly healthy. Tomorrrow they're selling cookies and chips. My mantra will be "good weigh in".

At lunch I zipped into the bookstore to pick up a Vegas book. The thing that's great about Vegas is that things change all the time so I wanted to read up on what's a must see.

I'm a little zonked so I might just relax and start flipping through the book.

Hope you had an awesome Tuesday.

Hugs!!!!

That's half a brownie??!!!

First thing this morning I stepped on the scale and saw I was back in the 160s tentatively. That's the great thing about being off plan, when you go back on plan you see a difference.

Had a lovely day today as I met my friend P for lunch. We went to Kensington and I haven't wandered around there in ages. A lot of things were closed due to the holiday but some stuff was open. We decided to go to Nellie's, there's a few of these in the city and there all popular but each has a slightly different vibe. This one was as busy as the rest but felt a little more laid back.

I decided to get there lunch deal which was half a sandwich, hashbrowns or salad and half a brownie. Well I knew this would be my biggest meal of the day. I had half a BLT, went with the hashbrowns (I could have gone with the salad but I haven't had hashbrowns in a while)  and when they brought the brownie to the table I said "That's a half a brownie???". The brownie was ginormous, I'm thinking full size would have been a 4 inch square and about an inch and half high. I didn't quite finish my sandwich, left a few hasbrowns on the plate and ate 1/3 of the brownie. It was all yummy.

We walked around a bit and I was home by 1:30. I then decided to go for a mega walk as yesterday's walk was a short 30min as my tummy wasn't happy. Today went better:
1:19:59/ 9.08K/ 454 calories burned/

I did get hungry at 5pm so I made zucchini spaghetti again. I think this will be a low point staple.  Then I decided to dig out my shorts to see if anything still fit. Every pair I own is way too big like at least 2 sizes too big. Whoohoo but I need to go shopping before Vegas.

My casual wardrobe consists of t-shirts, sweatpants, jeans, technical tops and workout bottoms. I'm rather limited in that area as I'm more likely to buy work clothes.

I haven't worn shorts since the last time I went to Vegas (a few years back). I don't wear shorts or skirts (in public) as for a long time I used to dress to hide myself (not so much anymore) I do think I'm awfully pale, yet I'm not ashamed to be as I choose to treat the sun with caution and protect my skin. I'm thinking if Christina Hendricks (Joan on Mad Men) can rock the pale so can I.

This Saturday I need to go shopping for some summer clothes and I'm hoping to hit sales as the fall stuff is coming in.

I've had a few people ask me why I do WW and if I find it successful. I like WW because it teaches me to be accountable (tracking), how to eat better (portions and nutrition) and absolutely nothing is off limits. That means a lot to me as if anyone tells me I can't have something then I want it. Everything in moderation plus using real food - no supplements and no packaged processed food, which I think makes it something I can carry on for the rest of my life. WW does make frozen entrees and such but it's not part of the plan.

When I follow the program it works great, when I don't follow the program it doesn't work. What I mean by that is it's the work I put in that makes it work or not. I also find meeting incredibly important as I tried online for a year and wasn't very successful. I need the accountability of standing on their scale. It's taken me a while to figure that out as I've rejoined WW 3 times. The first time I quite my Mom had died and I needed to time to deal with that. The 2nd time I quit I had lost my job and thought I could do it on my own and save the moolah. I will not quit this time.

Is this the program for you? I can't answer that. I think the key to successful weightloss is finding what works for you so perhaps experimentation is key. I tried doing it on my own - didn't work for me. I tried doing it online - didn't work for me. I go back to meetings and I started losing again. I also find the meetings themselves pretty inspirational. The lady who weighed me in this week has lost 118lbs...that's unbelievably inspiring.

Hope you had a fabulous Monday.

Hugs!!!

Thank you

A while back Lisa so kindly gave me this. Now it's taken me a bit to get sorted to post as there are some rules associated with this award:

Part one: Share seven things about yourself:

Seven? That's a lot but here's my attempt.

1. I once talked myself back into the country because I lost my I.D when travelling in the U.S. Now this was before 9/11 and I had left the I.D on my connecting flight so I didn't realize until I hit Denver that I was without my driver's license and birth certificate. I got on the plane back to Canada as they printed an extra boarding pass for me and I picked a female custom agent when I got to Calgary and explained my situation. She just asked to see a credit card (which was from a Canadian bank) and asked where I was born and in what hospital.

2. I'm an only child which I think caused a rather active imagination as I used to play board games with my stuffed animals. I once overheard someone giving advice to a newly pregnant person about how it's best to have at least two kids. I found that odd as the person saying that was not an only child. I've known a lot of people with siblings and some are tight knit and some don't speak to each other.

3. I'm the only person born in Canada in my entire family. There's one American and the rest are born in Germany.

4. I adore dogs (you probably new that already)

5. A psychic once told me I was intuitive and I can sense things.

6.  I can't stand anything that tastes or smells like black licorice. This included fennel and ouzo. I think cilantro tasted like soap.

7. It really suprises me that I have followers. I started this blog sort of as a diary and while on the internet I didn't really think people would read it. While I follow loads of blogs and find inspiration from then I never thought I'd provide that to someone else.

Part 2: Nominate fifteen newly discovered blogs.

This I find hard as there are so many great blogs and I don't want to exclude someone. I nominate all my followers as I encourage any lurkers to check out what they have to say.

If you don't have an award on your blog yet or want to add this one it is my honour to give it to you.

Part 3: Let your nominees know about the award.

If  you decided to accept this award from me I just ask that you post the 7 things about yourself.

Now on to normally scheduled programming:

I'm back to daily weighing as it helps me stay on track and this morning it was lower then yesterday.

It did start to rain at about 2am and rained steadily until about 7am, see I knew watering my lawn would cause rain.  I may head out for a mega walk shortly.

For lunch I had a new creation of carmalized onions, ground turkey, spaghetti squash, garlic and organic spaghetti sauce - it was yummy.

Laundry is done washing and now I must go hang it on drying racks. I can't wait for my new dryer as this is getting old. Last week when I had it outside my neighbour commented that I was super environmentally friendly and then I said "no, my dryer broke". I don't take credit unless I've earned it.

Hope you're having a great Sunday.

Hugs!!

Is there a full moon?

When I worked for a staffing agency I always noticed that weird people and full moons seemed to go together. More on that in a minute.

Yesterday I set my alarm for a couple of hours before I leave for weigh in which is my usual weigh in routine. While adjusting the time I also lowered the volume. I woke up on my own on hour before I had to head out. That was lucky as I easily could have slept on. I was determined to go to my meeting today.

I stepped on my scale and didn't know what to make of it as lately it's been so very off from the WW scale. It wasn't like that before.

On my way to weigh in met an adorable pug named Charlie and then I went to Starbucks to pick up breakfast.

I got a non fat caramel latte and decided to try their "reduced fat turkey bacon egg white sandwich". I didn't know the points when I bought it. It was alright I was trying to watch them prepare it and it seemed to be a reheating sort of thing as the guy just stood there until something beeped.

When I got home I tracked it and the sandwich was 6pts. Made me think for 1pt more I can get an egg mcmuffin and McDonald's that's cooked fresh.

I'm sitting waiting for the meeting to start and this random woman gets up from her seat to sit in front of me (from  the other side of the room) and spins her chair to speak to me. She starts asking me about a woman who had just sat down in the front row. Apparently this is her nosey neighbour and how she doesn't want her to see her. However she really wanted to stay for the meeting because the topic was snacking. She proceeds to tell me a few examples of the nosey neighbour (including one about a murder in their neighbourhood) and this point I'm thinking is there a full moon because the woman talking to me is looney. I'm not sure why she just didn't tell this saga to the woman sitting next to her. I told her to sit directly behind the nosey neighbour a few rows back and then she'll be in her blind spot and not be seen (and also be far away from me).

At weigh in I was up 0.2 which I will totally take I was expecting worse so I'm quite pleased that my poor behaviour didn't cause too much damage. I did buy a new journal and some more coupons. After weigh in I went grocery shopping and got the fixings for work lunch salads. I also went to Walmart and picked up a new scale.

I love the "food watcher" app I put on my iphone. At one point I considered buying some hagaan daz mini bars as they were on sale. I plugged in the NI and for 4.5 pts each totally not worth it.

Got home and used my fancy slicer to make zucchini spaghetti with organic tomato sauce and some reduced fat Italiano cheese.

I sauteed the zucchini in some olive oil with some salt and pepper. This was delicious. The zucchini wasn't mushy and I'll definitely make this again.  I'm thinking of trying butternut squash as well.

Tomorrow I'll be making something with spaghetti squash as I have one that needs to used.

Then I unpacked the new scale (also a WW model) and compared the scales. My old scale was a 1lb and a bit more than the new scale.

I then started sprinkler olympics as all the promised rain over the past few days hasn't happened. I figured if I put the sprinkler on it would rain. Well it hasn't yet.

I bought some cherries today and had some of those as a snack in the afternoon and then for dinner I had a turkey bacon and tomato sandwich

As I'm back in the 170s I get 22pts and right now I'm sitting at 2pts over. I way still have 1/2 cup of the Real Dairy Low Fat ice cream (2pts).  All is tracked in my journal.

I strongly believe in eating your flex points.

I didn't do any formalized activity today apart from walking to and from the grocery store (2AP) which is a workout with a backpack full of groceries on the return trip.

I may still hit the mat for some yoga. I was thinking of doing a personal yoga challenge and practicing every day until the weigh in before Vegas (Aug 11).

I hope you all had a wonderful Saturday until tomorrow.

Hugs!!!

Friday - Thank the stars

It felt like a long week this week, probably due to being on vacation last week. I am very much looking forward to this long weekend for the simple fact of sleeping in and not having to carry my heavy computer bag home tonight.

I had thought of doing grocery shopping on the way home but I got an invite from some friends to join them for after work drinks and even with weigh in looming tomorrow I said why not. Had a lovely time and was home by 6pm.

I'm not really thinking about tomorrow's weigh in. I will accept whatever I see. I am kind of looking forward to a few weeks from now when trips are finished and I can get back into a pattern. I feel like I've had a lot disruption lately and not prepared willing to handle it. The mission is still goal by December.

This coming work week I am packing my lunch everyday and I think I'll pack a salad. I got some ideas from Ms Bitch Cakes and I'll save some money before Vegas as well.

Next Saturday I might check out a hot yoga class with a work friend. I've always thought I wouldn't like it but never tried it, I can't really have an opinion without trying it.

I will be buying a new journal tomorrow and I've decided to track while in Vegas. If I'm going to get to goal I have to be on plan even on vacation.

Stay tuned your focused CowgirlWarrior will be back, right not she just needs to chill for a minute.

Hugs!!

Random Things and New Toys

Hello my friends,
Got home late last night and was too zonked to blog. However I have cute new hair and a new toy:

It was time to upgrade my cell phone so I wandered over to Rogers as I had time to kill before my hair appointment at Aveda. I asked about upgrading to an Iphone. The sales guy asked me if it was Iphone 4 I wanted and I said no. I've heard way too many bad things about the newest version plus I was sort of hoping the 3GS might be reduced because of the new launch. I was right and got a 32gb version for a super decent price. Of course I've spent a lot moments since playing with it. I have the advantage of owning a Ipod touch (which is dying) so the functions are super similar. I downloaded a app that calculates WW points though it's not sanctioned by WW.

Speaking WW, they just launched the monthly pass in Canada. It's gets you unlimited meetings and the use of E-Tools. I think it said $11.95 a week, of course it's not available in Alberta because the people who own the franchise here are no fun whatsoever. They didn't participate in the 5K walk awhile back and we often don't get things that are available at other meetings in North America. Oh well, one needs to make do with what they have.

I know I said on the weekend that I was going to pick up my parcel but I had to sort out how to do 2 loads of laundry with no dryer. Luckily it was nice last weekend so the first load went outside on the drying racks that sure speeds up the process. I had to email the Trail Appliance guy the other day and he told me my dryer might be arriving in their warehouse on Aug 1. So maybe just maybe I'll have my new washer and dryer sometime next week.

I picked up the parcel today and now have this. I bought a zucchini on the way home to make zucchini spaghetti for dinner tomorrow.

Tonight's dinner was some Bush's baked beans which are now available in Canada. I saw it first in the Sobey's in Sundre (pop. 2500) but I did notice today Safeway had a few different versions. It was quite yummy and the nutritional info is friendlier than the some of the other versions.

I was playing around with the camera on the iphone and took a picture of my lunch. This is one of my go to fast food lunches. Small chili 4pts, Garden Salad 0pts and the entire pack of dressing is 2pts but I don't use the whole pack. I put it in the lid of the salad container and dip my fork. The salad now comes with croutons. I didn't put them on the salad but they wound up being my snack as I had to work late today. I get the feeling this new phone will cause me to take more pictures and post them.

Do those Tetley Infusion commercials drive anyone else bonkers? I bought a box when they first came out the blueberry version to be specific. What that commercial doesn't mention is that there's two servings in that pouch and no way to seal the pouch. The NI on my pack is 50 cal for one serving, so that's 100 calories for the pack. Naturally sweetened they say and the first ingredient is raw cane sugar. No artifical flavours they say and the blueberry juice is from concentrate I don't call that natural.
I'm sorry but the Nestea Ice Tea "powder" is 5 calories and one pack flavours a 1L of water just fine and counts as 0pts.

On the weight loss front still having an issue with tracking and I was thinking about picking up a new journal on Saturday to start fresh. I find a reset always helps me. I did walk home from post office and I was wearing my Reebok Easytones, I'll admit I do a feel a bit of a difference when I wear those but my toes do get a wee numb and I think that has to do with them being elevated in this shoe. One of these days I'll do an experiment and do a 5K walk in Easytones and my Mizunos and compare the calories burned

You must wander over to Ms Bitch Cakes blog because she hit goal the other day. I find her super inspiring because she's fought the battles to get to goal. Not only does she look phenomenal her positive attitude just radiates from her blog. I true inpiration that girl is.

If you're having a tough time right now I hope you find your re-set/ re-start button and take inspiration from Ms Bitch Cakes as the end goal is entirely achievable.

Hugs!!!!

Why?

You know when you're on plan and you're eating right, exercising and everything just seems to be falling into place and then for some reason your plan is interrupted and then...it takes you so freakin' long to get your act in gear.

This is where I am. I used to be focused and somewhere I lost that and it's been a challenge getting it back. I know I need to take it one day at a time.

Food wise has been iffy and tracking after the damage has been done. I went for a mega walk on Sunday. I packed my travel yoga mat in my site bag and did a few rounds of sun salutation in my camp room.

When I got off the plane today I thought I should go for a walk but I'm not into it tonight and I'd rather roll out my yoga mat.

I got home and put the sprinkler on and I took out the garbage plus I collected the dry clothes off the drying racks downstairs so quite productive after a long day.

I totally forgot that this Monday is a holiday here, which means I stay home for the week. Which also means I need to do a more thorough grocery shop this weekend. Even though I just came back from vacation and Vegas is two weeks away I'm kind of excited about a long weekend.

My plan for the rest of the week focus on the water, track before I eat and get some type of activity in everyday.

I'm not doing the yoga challenge that a whack of other bloggers are doing but I do want to ensure that's consistent in my life. When I was doing it consistently I could see the benefits not just physical but also mental. It's nice to have that moment where your only focus is on breath or a posture. It clears my head and helps me realize my body and mind are strong.

My weight loss slump will end because I will make it end.

Hugs!!!