Not according to plan

Pretty average day today with the exception of every big wig in my area was in a meeting on my floor. We're talking the Sr. VP, the EVP, VP and whatever else they call each other. All it took was for everyone to realize they were there and we all took the long way around to the kitchen or bathroom so we didn't have to walk past that room.

I've been exhausted all day but I knew I had a workout tonight so I plugged through.

Got to workout did my warm up, 25 push ups, 250km on the rower and 40 dumbell swings with 20lbs and I took a step towards the weight rack to do my next set of push ups and SHAZAAM I had searing pain in the back of both my legs. OMG I could barely hobble and the tears started to flow.

Trainer quickly tossed me into a back room and head trainer dude came and they made me lie down. They were firing questions at me like "Did you hear a pop?", "Is it shooting pain?", "Is it vibrating pain?". I'm like it hurts and shut up.

So the other guy did some leg stretches and the pain started to subside. We suspect one heck of a muscle spasm in both hamstring muscles. Again the questions "Are you hydrated", "How much salt in your diet". I'm like dude let me lie here.

Now I was totally red and my eyes a spectacular vibrant green against the red face. He's asking me if I'm o.k because I still look upset. I had to explain that I stay red for a long time.

After the pain subsided now I felt mortally embarrassed and the tears started again. OMG it was kind of funny watching two manly trainers dealing with a sobbing female. They filled out an incident report. The other guy tried to make me feel better telling about a woman who once fell of a treadmill and put a hole in a wall.

No my hamstrings feel sore, I've taken a hot bath and did a good amount of time in Legs up the Wall pose to stretch. I don't need to face the gym until Monday.

You know what's really funny on Monday Trainer was talking about making people cry and I defiantly said you've never made me cry. Busted.

I'll go back on Monday....maybe in disguise?

Take care kids....hugs.

I need groceries

Toast for supper is getting old. Dog goes home tomorrow, while I loved having her and we did a killer walk tonight, the need to get home and let her out has complicated my schedule. She is a cutie but the need to be by my side every moment is exhausting.

She's so funny I picked her up today and she was already adapted to our one day routine. Hopped right into my yard and sat in front of my back door. She went straight to the spot where I had her water bowl the day before. Of course I had yet to unpack the water bowl.

She slept right next to me all night and this morning she gave me a "hit the snooze" look when the alarm went off.

I didn't sleep so great as I was very conscious of where she was and didn't want to knock her off the bed. Today I'm so tired I don't think that will be a problem.

Trainer tomorrow and I actually got cardio since Monday thanks to the dog.

There she is...as I so rudely interrupted her nap to take the shot

Take care of yourselves....hugs!

I bench pressed 60lbs

Remember when I complained about 20lbs?

Mind you I was into the 3rd rep when I asked how much the weight was. This was my third set of bench presses the first two were 50lbs, so being able to squeek out 10 with 60lbs was a major victory.

Let me start with the workout.
Regular warm up.

Alternate the following pairs 3 times.
Deadlifts - do 10, do 8, do 6 - 80lbs
Push ups- as many as you can to exhaustion - 3 times

Chin Ups - do 21, do 15, do 9
Dumbell Thruster - 35lbs - do 21, do 15, do 9

Dumbell swings - 20lbs - do 21, do 15, do 9
Squats- do 21, do 15, do 9

Sit Ups
Box Jumps same amount as above

Then we did the Tabata workout - as many as you can in 30 seconds, 10 second rest

Skull Crushers - 18lbs
Sit Ups (new style)
Bicep curls - 18lbs

After workout I went a picked up my new H2O mop. OMG this thing is awesome. I mopped my kitchen floor in mere minutes and the bottom of the pad was gross. I grabbed a lysol wipe and wiped it down the middle of the floor just to see if it picked up everything. The wipe was clear.

Taking care of the neighbours dog and we just did a very fast paced 30min walk. She's now snoozing beside me.

Discovered today that there some serious drama/politics at work and my plan is to go in do my job and go home. I inadvertly got sucked right in the middle of it today, never again I say.

A rumored 5 more centimetres of snow is on it's way, so far nothing. Hopefully it pass us by. Fingers are crossed my friends.

Alright have a groovy evening.

Hugs!

Here we go again

Snow, snow and more snow.
I don't mind snow but this is getting a wee bit ridiculous with 20cm being dumped every weekend. Mind you if you've planted tulips, but the snow on your flower beds and you'll have awesome huge tulips. I did not plant tulips this autumn, mind you I should wind up with amazing lilacs and super green grass.

Running around in that snow meant no gym and no grocery shopping today so instead I shovelled snow, cleaned my house and did laundry. The city was warning people not to travel on the roads. (Wet, very slippery snow not so good).

Ran over to the neighbours to get the lowdown on the dog as the dog and I will be hanging out for 3 days while the family goes away for a few days.

I'm excited the dog and I get along really well and this will be a nice vacation for her too. Plus there will be plenty of walks in between gym days so a benefit for both of us.

Food will be interesting I got breakfasts covered but lunches might need to be purchased before I can hit a grocery store. So I'll have to choose wisely.

Looking forward to seeing Trainer and the girls tomorrow.

Alright that's all I got for today so toon in tomorrow for rundown of the workout.

Hugs!

I'm back

Hello, hello,
Can't believe it's been a few days since I've posted as blogging seems to be a regular hobby for me.

Where I left off, I was off to Fort McMurray with 4 dozen mini cupcakes. Boy did a lot of people want to be my friend at the airport. The little suckers survived the crazy bus ride home and the plane. Obliterated by 2pm. My FMM team will never forget me know.

On the way back the plane was delayed for half an hour so that meant I was up at 3:30am and didn't see my house until 9pm. I must remember to bring a book next time. All I had was my ipod and I was draining the battery with games.

Friday flew by with work stuff and I was still pretty tired from Thursday so I was in bed early.

Today I was planning to hit the gym and I was reminded on Friday that I had volunteered to help out on Saturday. What I absolutely love about my company is it's dedication to the community. Any two employees (one has to me an employee more than a year) can ask for money to support a community effort.

So today we bought brand new kitchen supplies for an organization that helps people with brain injuries. Another company donated a brand new kitchen, so we got a whack of stuff to fill it like plates, cutlery, serving dishes, appliances, towels, oven mitts and a bizillion other items. We were meeting at 10am and I had thought o.k a few hours. I got home at 4:30pm. It's all good and the organization is excited so it just warms your heart.

I'll hit the gym tomorrow but probably focus on Cardio as I have trainer on Monday. I also need to get groceries and clean my house so it will be a busy day tomorrow.

Alright hope all of you are well and I'll talk to you later,
Hugs!

I stand corrected

I placed an order for 4 dozen mini cupcakes from Bliss and Co. today as I'm taking them to Fort Mac as a treat for my team. As far as I know there are no specialty cup cake places in Fort Mac, where as Calgary is being run over by them. I asked them if they used shortening or butter in their buttercream. The answer is butter. What threw me is they whip up their icing into mousse like texture so the consistency seemed different to me. Super nice people by the way as opposed to the grumpy people at Crave.

The gym in my building is having some introductory classes before the official opening date and tomorrow is a 45min Ashtanga yoga class. I'm taking my mat to work tomorrow and I'll check it out.

So I'm thinking tonight maybe I'll look for an Ashtanga class on myyogaonline.com as I'm only familiar with Hatha yoga. There are similarities for sure but I'm curious to see if there's a difference. I read somewhere that if you're thinking of your shopping list while doing yoga, you're not doing the right yoga for you. I don't usually think of my shopping list while doing hatha yoga but I have to admit when I go to the community centre class I sometimes do. I think that has more to do with the lengthy description of the poses and not really creating a flow.

Looking forward to Biggest Loser tonight. Who will hit the first 100lbs lost on the ranch for a woman. I have to admit I'm rooting for Tara, I admire her dedication. Yes, she's a bit intense but man she works hard.

I forwarded through the guide on my tv and it looks like next week will be hosted by Michelle and Ali, as I'm guessing this is when Allison has her baby. That will be interesting to see as there in front of them will be two former winners.

Alright that's it for today.

Hugs!!

Holy Crap

Major news at work that caused a bit of a freak out all round. By 11am I was calm and filled with positivity and surprisingly stuck to my packed lunch. I didn't snack outside my planned day and when I got home I was not eating the fridge either....bizarre. Mergers are always stressfull but there's nothing you can control so there's not point in freaking out.

Killer workout tonight. We did so much that I'm not sure I can explain it but here's a go:

Warm Up - 10 situps, back extensions, toe touches and samson stretches - 3 rounds

500m rowing machine

Shoulder presses (10lbs in each hand)

Proper squats -involving standing with legs wider apart and pressing up using your thigh muscles .....oy vey

Sumo something something - wavy bar 20lbs, hold bar right in the middle with thumbs touching. Start in squat position and stand up holding bar lift to chin

Repeat above 3 times, as many reps as you can in 2minutes, with exception of rower - had to do 500m

Spin bike - 2min

chest press - 40lbs - last round was 50lbs......50lbs people remember when I thought 20lbs was hard.

reverse lat pull down - 27.5lbs

Repeat above 3 times as many reps as you can in 2min.

Then we did "proper" sit ups. Lay down with a towel as support under your lower back (fold towel accordingly), place feet sole to sole so legs are bent, now do a sit up. Apparenlty this works your lower belly and boy does it. Combined with this were dumbell swings.

21 of each, then 15 of each and then 10 of each.

OMG sweat was dripping off me. My back was not happy especially with the rower. Trainer just finished "Crossfit training" need to google that and he called us athletes today and he was our coach.

I'm going to miss him on Thursday, tomorrow I'm going to focus on yoga. Wednesday I need to be in bed early as my flight is damn early on Thursday. I'll hit the gym again on Friday and this weekend.

I got my yogitoes today (pictured above and I got purple) and so far I'm so impressed. I got the full mat one and the hand one. I tried the hand one tonight with just a few poses but my hands did not slide during downward dog...awesome. I think in the summer when it's warm the full mat one will be incredible. Stops your mat from getting sweaty and improves grip. I can't wait to do a yoga practice tomorrow.

Hope all is well with you, hugs!

Workout in the snow

OMG I shovelled the snow and it's closer to 20cm than 12cm. Super wet and heavy snow at that and I could feel it in my arms.

Thanks to Boxer for commenting on my post the other day about cupcakes. I will definitely have to try the Bliss and Co. cupcakes again. I will say that the cake part definitely superior to Crave. My plan is go in to Bliss and just ask them if they use shortening or butter. I just didn't taste any butter. There are alot of buttercream recipes that use half shortening and half butter also. I might pick a few up on Friday and try to figure it out.

Feedback is good people on my quest to make the perfect cupcake.

My next cupcake experiment will be after Easter and I found another recipe that adds whip cream into the ingredients. So if you're in Sunlife and you see a person carrying a cupcake carrier with two or three trays of cupcakes that'd be me.

Thanks for the comments on the tracking question I posed yesterday. I am going to focus on eating what's good for me and not tracking and see what happens this week.

On the goal front:
Water - 6/7 days
Cardio - 1/2 days
Weights - 2/2 days
Yoga - 1/2 days
Tracking - 3/7 days

On Thursday I'm in Fort Mac and there's no opportunities for workouts that day as it's go go go from 3:30am to 8pm. So it up to me to get in a 2nd weight workout as I'll only see trainer once this week.

So the goals remain the same for next week with the exception of tracking, we'll take that off and see what happens.

Hugs!

Surprise!

Yesterday, there was hardly any snow left and water was running down the street. This morning when I woke up and opened the curtains this is what I saw. I'm thinking it's about 12cm right now and it's still snowing.

What sucks about this is the last 3 days have been true spring weather. Now that spring has arrived it snows. Murphy's law for sure.

So I made pancakes for breakfast and once I finish my coffee I'll head out there and shovel. I'm thinking there will be muliple shovelling opportunities today.

Going to the grocery store is out today because roads will be crap on foot or by vehicle. No worries I'll get creative with the pantry and I'm thinking it will be half a can of Chunky Soup with added veg for work lunch (3pts) and I'll investigate the freezer.

So today will be yoga and chores, and clearing off the dvr.

Hugs!

Lazy day

I woke up at 10am today, I must have been tired because I don't usually sleep in like that.

My first mission of the day was to go buy milk so I opted to walk down to Walmart and pick up a few other odds and sodds and then walk home. Planning a trip to Safeway tomorrow to pick up the fresh stuff but apparently we're getting snow. I heard 10cm, my Dad phoned me to tell me he heard Calgary would get 30cm. If we get 30cm of snow I'm not walking to the grocery store and may just live out of the pantry for the week. I really really hope it's not a lot of snow.

This morning when I left at 11:30 it was plus 10 by 3pm it was 0, that's a fast drop my friends.

I also picked up a Fit Yoga magazine while at Walmart and it had a weigh loss article in it. One tidbit of advice that caught my eye was don't count calories and that the best food to eat is the food that's good for you. Sounds simple doesn't it? This article says the counting keeps you so much in your head that you don't pay attention to what's going on in your body. It also says some diets are filled with chemicals and the first thing taken away is protein. Protein is good for muscles.

This got me thinking a little. On WW we focus on points which is tracking. Do you obsess about points or calories where you look at the numerical value vs. the nutritional value? I know there's been times where I've thought it's only 2pts - the mini Jos Louis cake for example.

As I was in Walmart I noticed they carry some the Biggest Loser products like whey protein powder and a protein drink crystal. Not exactly wholesome ingredients. Ever read the ingredient list on WW foods...a wee bit scary.

Of course if only it was that simple. I'm not so sure my internal dialogue would lead me to the healthiest of options as I have a strong instinct for not so healthy i.e chocolate. It is something to think about. Do I obsess from the numbers and ignore what my body is telling me? Perhaps that will be an experiment for the coming week.

Alright that's it for today.

Hugs!

It's the frakin' end

I refer to Battlestar Gallactica of course. Watched the series finale tonight and I enjoyed it. Best part for me the cylon on cylon fight. New cylon vs. 1980 cylon. Plus the original theme song as the ships sailed into the sun.

Shed some tears at moments and totally enraptured in others. I'm going to miss this show.

Other than that rather uneventful day today, however I think I'm proving my efficiency to the upper echelons as today I got a phone call from a higher ranking individual asking for my help. That's was neat.

On Sunday I'll wrap up my goals for the week, which I'll admit now have not been going well. I've got no excuses and will just start over on a new week.

Found a sticker from UPS on my steps saying that this was their 2nd attempt to deliver a package, interesting there was no notice about the first package.

Alright that's all I got today, hopefully more entertaining things will happen tomorrow.

Hugs!

I'm on to you guys

Four other people on my side of the floor go to the gym I go to. Two work with trainers also. Both of these people go to the gym during the day while I prefer to go after work.
Today when they came back from their training sessions they talked about having to do "Turkish thrusters", the spin bike and the rowing machine. They use different trainers yet were doing similar exercises.

So I show up for my training session and guess what it was Turkish thrusters, rowing machine and spin bike. What a surprise, so now I wonder about these trainers...

One of my co-workers and I were talking and she asked me if I was going to continue after the sessions were finished. I'm thinking that's a definitive no. I need to learn to do this on my own. If I do wind up on a fly in/ fly out schedule I'll be training myself anyway.

There was five of us today so we're split into two groups. I was put into a group of 3 and this is how it went:
Traditional warm up - which I've described a bizillion times.

Turkish thrusters - 8 times - 4 each side and then 10 pushups - repeat cycle 3 times.
The turkish thruster involves laying on the floor holding a 10lb weight in one hand straight up 90 degree angle to the rest of your body.

Now manoever your way to standing positing holding the weight straight up at all times, opposite leg of hand holding weight is bent. Your supposed sit up, put your elbow of the arm not holding the weight on the floor to support you, then your hand, then scoop a leg under another let to get upright, then do a backwards lunge with the leg opposite to the one holding the weight, down to kneeling position, scoop another leg so that you're laying back down - this counts as one.
Oh my goodness, I was a wreck at these I was getting up somehow but legs weren't scooping where they were supposed to be. I was sweating buckets after this.

Then:
Do 21 reps of each, then 15 reps and then 9 reps:
Dumbell squats/ thruster - 30lbs
Squats
Dumbell swing - 10lbs

Then:
Row 500m
Spin bike - sitting as fast as you can 15 seconds, stand up steady pace 15 seconds do this for a total of 2 mins.
Farmers Walk overhead 35lbs
Repeat 3 times - though my 2nd and 3rd Farmer's walk was done with 25lbs

Then this thing trainer like called Tabada - 40 seconds as many reps as you can, 10 second reps, 8 rounds of each individual exercise

Bicep Curls - 19lb padded bar
Skull Crushers - same bar
Sit Ups

I was sweating buckets by round two of the first set of exercises. Tonight was the first time he incorporated cardio in between the weights.

By the last sit up I was willing myself upwards. I did not feel so great today probably due to birthday cake (chocolate ganache cake and as dense as chocolate bar).
Later in the afternoon co-workers discovered a new bakery across the street that sells cupcakes. Bliss and Co. it's called and apparently they do more than cupcakes. So of course I had try one as I'm on a mission to make the best cupcake ever. They definitely use shortening and not butter so I've scooped them there. Apparently they make caramel apple pie...dangerous.

Yippee to tomorrow being Friday and getting to wear jeans to work. I have a parcel to pick up and it's either amazon or the long awaited Yogatoes. I'll pick it up on the way home from work.

Alright off to a hot bath...see ya tomorrow.

Hugs!

Gobbled up

Every last cupcake was eaten before 3pm, mind you I shared them with the whole floor. I almost had people follow me off the elevator thanks to those cupcakes.
I promised them more cupcakes after Easter as I have yet to make the perfect icing. My mission is to make a better cupcake than Crave here in Calgary. Their cupcakes are good but not perfect and quite frankly their service sucks.

Yesterday was long but class was good. Today the plan was to hit the gym for cardio but a wicked headache that struck this afternoon curtailed that plan. I opted instead to go home to peace and quiet. The good news I don't need to lug my gym bag to work as I left it there today.

I have training session tomorrow that will undoubtly be similar to Monday with stations. On Monday there was 6 of us so I'm kind of hoping there's less tomorrow. I'm liking the training as a group though.

I'm on way to having 3 gym memberships....yes crazy I know. It sounds ridiculously decadent and I was thinking I now have no excuse on getting skinny. My company has installed a gym in our building. Today a few of us went to go look at it. It's nice and rumour has it yoga will be offered 3 days a week. Good selection of equipment and about 8 treadmills plus they're top of the line treadmills. There is a fee, but it's super low and my company has this habit of grandfathering people. Meaning you get in early and if the cost changes they honour when you joined. So I'll sign up. It's less than I spend on coffee in a month so if I start bringing coffee from home no impact on my wallet at all. Did I mention the change room is gorgeous and they've got a bizillion towels. World Health that I have a one year membership with has towel issues as in they never have them.

I drank 3L of water at work, I haven't done that since I started this job. Of course I lost count of the number of times I had to go to the washroom. Hey it got me moving right?

Alright tales of the trainer for you tomorrow.
I'm going to bed early tonight.
Hugs!!

cupcakes and oh my god we worked out today

Tada...my St. Patrick's Day cupcakes that are heading to work tomorrow. The icing turned out way sweeter than I remembered (Wilton's recipe but with butter not shortening). However the cupcakes are devil food chocolate and not sweet. So hopefully the combo will be pleasing to people. The icing kind of tastes like those mint candies that aren't very strong mint.


Oh my goodness the workout tonight kicked my patootie and it turns out I have 14 sessions left. I got trainer to actually count as he keeps throwing out these other numbers.

So 6 stations, 2 exercises and you have to 4 sets of each station. (so in other words each station 4 times before moving to the next station)

Bench press 35lbs - 15 Reps
Chin ups - 10 Reps(assisted but I got to do it with 10lbs less than normal and boy could I feel it)

Tricep Pull Ups 30lbs - 15 Reps
Squats - 25 Reps

Lunges - 30
Ball Drop 11lbs- 20 Reps (which is pounding a medicine ball 11lbs into the floor as hard as you can, catch it and repeat)

Deadlift 80lbs - 8 Reps
Push Ups on the floor - 15 Reps

Dumbell Thruster 30lbs - 15 Reps
Sit Ups - 25 Reps

Dumbell Swing 17.5lbs - 20 Reps
Back Extensions - 15 Reps

The above was my last station and oh my goodness I never thought a back extension could be hard I spent a lot of time hanging upside down as I could squeeze out 3 at a time.

Then I got home and made icing. Oy vey not good following a recipe when you're tired, I'm exhausted and suspect I'll sleep really really well.

School is tomorrow and this is tough night. Work 9 hours and then 3 hours of school. I'll need to stop by Starbucks on the way to the university tomorrow. Last in person class Tim Horton's was closed and I don't want to risk not having caffeine. Right now I have absolute no desire to read the chapter I need to read for tomorrow. Thank goodness for lunch hours and being off work 2 hrs before class starts.

Food went well today and this afternoon when I felt the desire to snack I grabbed a piece of gum. Hey they talk about it all the time on Biggest Loser and I have to admit it worked. Having the peppermint taste in my mouth was like freshly brused teeth and the desire to eat was gone.

I most likely won't blog tomorrow as it's the day from hell tomorrow so take care my friends.

I'll be back on Wednesday with tales of cardio at the gym all by myself.

Day one - back on the wagon

So far so good. I've tracked breakfast and lunch and thus far have had no desire for a snack. I have 10pts for supper.

Yoga planned for later.

I went grocery shopping today and I made sure to go in with a plan. I'm sick and tired of All Bran so I got a box of Cheerios as a break. 5g of fibre not too shabby, it's not as high as All Bran but that's alright. I had oatmeal for breakfast this morning and I think I'll do that again tomorrow. The cheerios will be dinner after the gym sort of thing. I usually eat cereal far more often for supper than breakfast.

I decided on salad for work lunch, but I'm jazzing it up a bit. I got this fantastic marinade that Safeway makes it's a Cuban lime combo. I've got chicken marinating in that and then I'll bake it. I got some snap peas, radishes to make lettuce more interesting.

I picked up the blackberry Liberte yogurt after Angie's glowing review. It's 6pts for 175g, so yeah this ain't a low fat yogurt. If you remember my reasons for buying this as opposed to lower fat is that this one uses real ingeredients. I figured 100g would be around 4pts which would still be a decent serving and not so crazy point like.

They had this new type of tomatoe called Russo, stupidly expensive at $5/pd. There about the size of a Roma but round so I bought two to try it out. I had one with my lunch and it's got a slightly tougher skin and less acidic taste. My cashier said they're great for salsa but really expensive.

I only ventured into aisles if necessary other than that I stuck to the parameter of the grocery store.

Walked to the grocery store, I was going to walk back but I underestimated what I was buying and had a backpack full plus 4 bags. So took the bus part of the way. I was walking the 4 blocks home and I realized I was doing the gym's farmer's walk to certain extent.

I'm sure trainer would be proud :)
Alright tomorrow I bring you yet another workout with trainer.

Have a great Sunday!

Last Meal

When you first joined Weight Watchers did you have a "last meal".

I remember the night before I joined it was just after Christmas and my work had given me a small Bernard Callebaut log. This is a log made out of chocolate filled with individual chocolates. I ate the whole damn thing.

Yesterday was kind of my 2nd last meal. While I'm getting better a weight workouts and recovering faster the scale isn't showing any indication of my efforts as that's because my eating has been crap. So yesterday I ordered pizza and had my last meal before I buckle down and focus on being on track.

All my workouts are working the muscles but my efforts won't show unless I do something about the fat on top of the muscles and that means focused eating and adding sufficient cardio.

So today I reset my weight on ww online and I start over.

I'm really good at writing down all the workouts on this blog but no so much in the journal so today I back tracked through the blog and wrote down all the workouts as their are 6 sessions left with trainer so that's 3-4 weeks. Next week Thursday I'm in Fort Mac so I can't make it twice that week.

My schedule will totally depend on if I continue with trainer and I'll have to really evaluate the cost. I'm getting prepared to do this on my own should I have to.

I have some goals for next week starting tomorrow:
Minimum 2L of water a day
Minimum 2 cardio workouts-Wed and Fri - gym or outside
Minimum 2 yoga sessions - Sunday and Friday (normally Tuesday but I have class this week)
2 weight workouts - seeing trainer Mon and Thurs so those are taken care of.

The mission by end of day next Saturday is to have 7 water stickers and 6 workout stickers on my calendar.

Tomorrow I'm going grocery shopping and I will only buy work lunch one day next week.

I'm starting a paper food journal while I'll track online with ww, I need to have something with me to keep me accountable when I'm not on a computer. I also need to journal my thoughts when my instinct is to go get a snack that's not planned into the day and to measure my feelings as well. I'm definitely a feeling eater - happy, sad, bored, doesn't matter each could fuel a food event. The major thing that's been hampering my efforts for the past few months is definitely food.

Met H today for lunch as I haven't seen her in months. I'm always amazed at how fast time flies I can't believe it's been so long since I've seen her.

No matter how busy I get I need to make getting healthy a priority, no one else is going to do it for me.

The journey begins again.

Jaded?

I was on my way to Kensington today and instead taking a bus and a train I decided to take the bus then walk. As I was waiting to cross the street a man approached me and asked if I knew the city and I said yes. He then proceeds to tell me how his backpack got stolen at a restaurant on Stephen's Ave, he had no money and no ID but Greyhound said they'd give him a half priced ticket home to Ontario. So he needed $18 and he had reported the loss to the police and they gave him a list of places but they were all drop in shelters.

Call me heartless but I think this was all bull shit. You see this happens a lot in my city. Someone approaches you swears they've lost everything asks for money and they'll pay you back and then disappear. I advised him to got to social services agency located a few blocks away and kept walking. It wasn't a shelter but perhaps someone could help him there. If I was in his shoes, I'd be calling home and getting money wired to me and there are a huge number of services in my city there to help out. I saw him as I approached he wasn't approaching everyone, he was being selective.

It didn't help that he couldn't make eye contact and his account of reporting it to the police didn't add up. I've lost ID and know the process. Also I doubt very much a half priced ticket to Ontario is $18. I pay more than that for a one way to Old which is an hour away. That's pretty generous of Greyhound, funny they won't refund your money. I did my duty and gave him a place to go. I will not give money to anyone on the street. I'll buy coffee and even lunch but I never hand over cash and I donate directly to the shelter or service agency. More often than not that money isn't going to their welfare, it's going to something that will get them into deeper trouble.

I remember one time a guy asked me for money for the bus, so I gave him a bus ticket. You should have seen his face. He didn't want the ticket, he wanted the cash.

Am I jaded, maybe.

Mysteries of the bus and thursdays training session

Everyday this week there's been a new bus driver on my route in the morning. This is a little freaky as my bus route is not driver friendly. It goes through about 6 neighbourhoods, weaving among side streets with hidden stops. Add that's it dark and at 6am it's quite normal for the riders of the bus to shout out directions like "turn left here". Good to know we can work together and get to work on time.

My favourite driver so far was Tuesday, I should have known he was trouble when he clipped the sidewalk taking the turn by my stop at record speed. He had this uncanny ability to hit the accelerator just as you were in that one spot at the front of the bus where there's nothing to hang on to and he did it to every person.

I have the day off tomorrow...yippee!!!!! The think I looking forward to the most is just sleeping in then I'm going to pop down to Kensington as I haven't been there in ages.

Alright workout tonight made realize my limitations and road blocks.

Warm Up - 3 rounds
Situps
Back Extensions
Toe Touches
Samson Stretch

Then each of these exerices for 40 seconds and as many reps as you can do, back to back. 3 sets, 40 second rest between each set.
1st Group of Exercises: 3 Sets
Skull Crushers using two dumbells (12.5lbs each)
Plank
Reverse lunges holding two dumbells (10lbs each)

2nd Group of Exercises- 3 sets
Dumbell Squat two dumbells (10lbs each)
Bicep Curl (long bar 30lbs)
Tricep pull ups (long bar 30lbs, hold bar at waist pull up to your chest like you're rowing as you do that stand on your tippee toes as you release the weight down again flatten your feet)

3rd Group of Exercises - 3 sets
Situps
Chin jumps (standing on a step under an unassisted chin up contraption, you jump up and try to hold a chin up for a few seconds do as many as you can)
I was so bad at these that I got switched to reverse lat pull down - 35lbs)
Dumbell Swings (17.5lbs)

4th Group of Exercises - 3 sets
Knee Elbow (Hanging from a chin up contraption bring your knees up and hold for a few seconds do as many as you can)
I was also terrible at these so I got to lie on the floor on my back, hands under butt lift your legs off the floor to a 90 degree angle lower to floor and repeat)
Jump Ups - jumping on to a traditional step with 4 risers under each end.
This was road block, I have an absolute fear of jumping with two feet on to something high especially on to something I consider unstable - I was so freaked by these I got to do step ups instead.
Chest Press - 30lbs laying on a bench

I was so happy each time I got to Chest Press as I can do these.

What this proved to me is there's no excuse not do to the exercise but to find a solution that challenges the same muscles that you feel confident doing.

On the bus home I was holding my Ipod on my lap and I went to lift it up so I could change the volume and my arm protested as the muscle was so fatigued.

I do find the muscle soreness is not so bad anymore. It was a rather miraculous change. Last weekend I could harldy move on Friday and Saturday and then tada Sunday and nothing. This week on Tuesday I felt a little soreness but then fine. Perhaps my body is learning...crazy huh!

Alright I'm off to hot bad to soak these muscles.

Later!

Is anyone there?

I seriously thought that all of Fort McMurray and site had the day off and no one told me. No one was responding to emails or messages it was darn right eerie. Which made for a challenging afternoon to try to stay focused as everything I needed to do depended on someone giving me the necessary information. However it was our Thursday as tomorrow is our Friday as the real Friday we get off. I so hope tomorrow has more oomph but hey there's always Thursdays training session.

Why do people you hardly know ask you super personal questions? I was talking to a new employee today and he decided to give me advice on mortgages. So I told him I don't have a mortgage. The he says did you have a mortgage buying party, I'm said no I inherited it from my parents. Then he said "What do you do with all your money". That threw me, it's dude we're not friends and I know how much you make and it's far more than I do but I actually said "That's none of your business now let me know how it goes booking the drug and medical testing" in a super duper friendly way. The psychic did say I put up walls, hell yeah.

I successfully convinced my extremely funny co-worker to get new charms for the Pandora bracelets...hee hee. I'll take another picture soon. The drawback to this bracelet is as you add charms it becomes a heavy little sucker and a bit of an adventure to get on and off without contorting your face and wrist into unnatural shapes of concentration. I think I joined some kind of cult by accident. As we were looking at charms another woman came in to do the same thing and the look on her face was like she was sugar addict and she was staring at the last cupcake on earth. I had to wonder do I look like that?

I'm looking forward to my three day weekend as I need time to get sorted. I need to get back on plan and review my WW stuff. I especially need to get excited about tracking.

Alright that's all I got today, tomorrow I bring you another workout with Trainer.

Hugs!

My yoga classes are now done for the next few weeks. I have to miss next session for school and the first session of the spring classes due to the last university class. At the end of March I'll find out if my schedule will be changing, if it does that may mean no more Tuesday yoga.

Dancing with the people you may recognize

Alright for the first time ever I watched Dancing With The Stars last night. I pvr'rd it as I can't bear to watch the whole routine of the not so good dancers.

I think originally everyone thought Shaun Johnson might win but I think Melissa our jilted bachlorette might take it. She danced with two days of instruction and did really really well. I laughed out loud when Lil Kim dedicated her dance to all the women in federal prison.

Isn't it nice to know that So You Think You Can Dance can staff the instructors on DWTS. Dimitri, Lacey and Chelsea...who will be next perhaps Benji as we've not heard much from him after his win.

As per usual the muscle soreness is starting to kick in just before yoga. We did a lot of arm work yesterday and raising my arms up is starting to feel difficult. I'm hoping for no warrior poses tonight. I was kind of hoping it would be cancelled as it's verstunken cold outside and there's nothing like freezing on my there and then freezing on the way home.

However the forecast for tomorrow is a high of -8, that's like a 15 degree warm up.

Must go get ready for yoga but watching BL in the background. I despise wall sits.

Hugs!

Winter should be taken seriously

It was a balmy -30ish when I left for work today and on the way home it was pretty darn cold as well. I always shake my head at the people who don't take winter seriously. For example it's -30 cover your head, a huge percentage of body heat is lost through your head. Wear a proper jacket. One guy got on the bus and he was shaking and very very pink. He was wearing a golf jacket.

I was so hungry on the way home from the gym I almost mugged some guy for his donuts. He had two boxes of Tim's hanging out of the back of his backpack. He was walking kind of slow I could have taken him. At this point we were stopped in front of the DQ as the bus driver probably needed the loo. I did debate running across the parking lot but figured I could wait till I got home.

The workout tonight was again brutal:

Warm Up:
Sit ups
Back Extensions
Toe touches
Samson stretches
Run down a flight of stairs and then back up two steps at a time

4 sets, 4 exercises, 40 seconds each exercise do as many reps as you can with a 40 second rest in between sets:
Bicep curls - 15lbs
Skull Crushers - 20lbs
Squats
Chest press - 25lbs

Repeat sets and reps for these exercises:
Wall sit
Wall Ball
Dumbell Thrusters
Sit ups

Repeat sets and reps for these exercises:
Suspended crunches
Reverse lat pull down
Smacking a medicine ball onto the floor over and over again
Push ups

Then 100 L sits (crunches on the floor with legs up)
Then another abdominal exercise where you lie on your back, hands under your bum, legs straight up and lower to the ground and bring back up = brutal

While I was doing the reverse lat pull down, trainer came by and poked my bicep and said "Muscles". For a brief moment I wanted to smack him for breaking my concentration and then I realized "muscles" as in you can see them...whoo hoo.

And I was doing the same weights as the skinny girls....booyah!

Last words from trainer today - I want you to do lots of cardio between now and Thursday.

Yes Sir

Tomorrow is yoga, but I'll hit the treadmill on Wednesday and Friday. I need to kick it up a notch and not just rely on two workouts a week.

On another note I have rough copy done of my paper, I'll review one last time at lunch tomorrow and then submit that baby.

Later!

General musings

So I should have written a rough copy of my paper today but I couldn't get into it. I have it in my head but I can't put it on paper yet. It's due on Tuesday.

How is that Telus can update the time on the Blackberry but it takes 2 days for it show up on the land line?

I have a company designated day off on Friday so it's a short week....yippee.

I did a record time grocery shop today timing my buses down to a science and I even returned library books plus it was -18. Yesterday it was about -2 today -18, so fun...not.

I made an apple pecan cheesecake for a birthday at work today and my house smells like cinnamon.

I'm sitting here flipping channels and I see this commercial for the Betty Crocker chocolate thingies that you make in the microwave. Why are there only woman eating this in the commercial? More specifically each woman is in their scenario alone. Not eating with a friend or a boyfriend/husband. What is Betty Crocker implying exactly?

I have not weighed myself in two weeks. Strangely I'm kind of proud of myself as I'm typically a chronic weigher. I'm really enjoying the gym workouts but my tracking still sucks. I'm not over eating but I know I'm not getting all my veggies/ water in.

How evil was it that BL had to throw up a "to be continued" before the weigh in was finished.

Today I bought two types of yogurt. One - Liberte Moka and Zero Raspberry. The moka is made of cream, milk, coffee. The zero is made of things I can't pronounce. Which do you think is really better for me?

Stay tuned for tomorrow and group workout #2.

Hugs!

My reading

Hola Friends,
Yes I do have a fantastic trainer, what breaks my heart is that once these sessions are finished I'm not sure if I can continue with him afterwards from a financial perspective.

It's funny on Thursday we were talking about a company in town that laid off 190 people. He said he's happy he works in a recession proof business. I looked at him and said "Really? You think people will pay for training fees and gym memberships". I know the gym is important to people but I'm thinking things like mortgage and food might rank higher. Once you sign up for these things you're locked in but depending on how long it takes to turn the market around I don't think they'll have an increase in sign ups.

When I first signed up I got a "deal" that works out to about $55/hr. Normally for one on one training it's $85/hr. If I continue with the group training it's $55/hr. So really if I continue with the group sessions for the next 14 sessions I'm not really saving any money but it's not costing me either. But $110 bucks a week could go to other things.

What I was hoping to get out of training sessions for 3 months was to create a habit and to know just how hard I can push myself. Since I'm now absolutely certain they're giving me more sessions than they originally said I'm aiming for second nature.

The psychic was awesome. Super nice, super friendly. She said stuff that made me raise my eyebrows like seeing me in Australia or with an Australian. Other stuff was darn right spooky how bang on it was.

She did ask me questions but it was afterwards almost to confirm something. For example she told me I have a thing about fitting in. Right now I'm in a group of people and I don't think I fit in but the group thinks I fit in. That describes my work environment perfectly. She also said I'm surrounded by worry which also sums up my work environment. She said I didn't need to worry which I knew from a conversation 4 days before this session. Then she asked me what I did.

She described the personalities of my parents perfectly and hadn't asked me about them. She mentioned very specific things about my Dad and Mom (who's passed on) that were very unique and perfectly on.

She had some really good insight on my personality and journey thus far without asking me any questions and very minimal general conversation beforehand.

She saw two relationships in my future, one this summer but it's not "soul mate" more fun and flirty. At one point she looked me straight in the eye and said "you're good on you own aren't you". Which is true, however she did see a soul mate that will come a little later and it will be easy no awkwardness and we'll totally get each other.

I'm happy I have it on tape because we talked a lot and I want to analyze it more.

She told me something that really tossed me for a loop in a positive way that confirms some things that I've often wondered about. I'm not going into detail on that as it will require me to do a some research and I don't want to share it with the world wide web.

It was very interesting to have the palms read, tarot read and tea leaves read.

Today I went downtown for a waxing appointment and hit the mall for a sale. Wowsers that thing has been under construction for awhile but it's getting worse. On their website they show the finished version www.coreshopping.ca and it totally reminds me of the decor of the mega mall in Honolulu. I started working in that mall with my very first job at age 17 so this is very interesting to me. It's been renovated before but this a mega overhaul. My friend told me a two storey H&M is moving in. I've been underwhelmed by the H&M's in the suburban malls but I'm hoping they shake it up for a downtown corporate environment.

It's spring savings time my North American friends so that's an hour back.

Later!

Best Workout Ever?

This is what Trainer told me at the end of todays workout. He said that this was the best workout we had together. I looked at him and said "really?"

It wasn't exactly together as today I tried the small group workout. It was myself and two other women and this is what we did:

Each of the follow exercises were 21 reps, rest, 15 reps, rest, 9 reps.

Dumbell Squats (I had two 12.5lb weights)
Dumbell Lifts - 2x 12.5 weights
Dumbell swings - 12.5lbs
Sit ups
Push ups (on the floor)
Hill Climbers (per leg)

We were each doing the above at the same time, the below were stations so each of us was doing a different exercise but same reps as above.

Wall Ball (squat down holding a medicine ball and fling it high so it bounces off the wall and you catch it)
Lunges
Burpees

Then he set up 3 stations:
Reclined chest press (25lbs)
Skull crusher on the floor with your legs off the floor
Staggered bicep curl

We had to each exercise for 8 sets 30 seconds as many reps as you could. 10 seconds rest between each set.

My arms were dying by the end of this. It was a good workout that's for sure. I definitely felt like I was working. Sweat dripping off and I was pretty flushed.

Working with the others did keep me inspired to keep going. Both of the other women were super skinny so I felt a little intimidated at first but he adjusted the weight for each person. I found that when I was ready for a break I'd look over at one of them and just keep going.

So on Monday I'll go at 4:30 again and meet up with the group. What I like about this too is he said I can come Mon, Wed or Thurs at 4:30 and he'd like to see me twice a week. Mon and Thurs were my workout days anyway. But at the end of each month I have to go to Fort McMurray on a Thurs so now atleast I have a standard alternate day.

I got there early and he told me to hop on a bike, instead I hit the treadmill. These treadmills are fancy shmancy. As you walk/ run it shows a dot going around a track. I noticed you could plus in the cord of your Ipod so I wonder if it charges it. There's a tv on each one too.

Alright kids I'm off to a hot bath and tomorrow it's the psychic.......I'll share I promise :)

Later!

My brain is full

This is the rolling shopping cart I was talking about the other day. Tres Chic...non. It has a shoulder strap on the back that I don't quite get. If you try to sling it over your shoulder (cart folded of course) the cart falls out. Without the cart that's one big awkward bag. I don't foresee using this shoulder strap. However, I do like the pockets and there is another one in the back. It holds 40L that's a fair amount of stuff.

Had a full day of training at work today and my brain is officially full.

Yes the Pandora bracelet was from the jewellery store in Bow Valley Square. I too have passed that poster a bazillion times. Now I find myself thinking of things I want to add to the bracelet.

The soreness from Monday's workout truly hit me at yoga last night. My movement in and out of poses wasn't very yoga like. I think it looked more like I was falling down drunk. Of course she decided to focus on poses that were crunch like. Fantastic I only did 110 sit ups the day before. I swear there are abs of steel under the blubber.

Shout out to "amazing fantastic co-worker" who learned about my blog today and suggested I call her that when I said I don't use names on my blog.

OMG I must talk TV now. What a schmozzle the Bachelor was , I'm not going to talk about that. I am super excited that the next Bachelorette is Canadian!!!!!! I wonder if they'll let more Canadian guys get on her show. May 18 it starts. Jillian - I hope you find looovveee.

I'm intrigued by commercials I've seen for a new series called Kings. I adore Ian McShane.

America's Next Top Model started tonight. I'm watching it now but kind of on and off. I know I want Sandra booted first.

I have officially stopped watching Heroes. It's so blah.

Battlestar Gallactica - I'm torn that a mere handful of episodes are left. Boomer stole the kid...what is all that about?

I'm outta here, I need to go to bed early for the torture Trainer has in store for me tomorrow.

Hugs!

Return of the trainer and stimulating the economy

Today at work I was alone in my row as my two row mates took PTO's today. I kept hearing giggling from the row to my left so I wandered over to find out what was going on.

Pandora charms was going on. I guess a jewellery store near by was having a deal today. Buy $100 worth of charms and get the bracelet for free. I got sucked in. I've heard about these for awhile but I could never justify buying the bracelet and the charms.

So this is my bracelet, photographed on top of my laptop. The charms from left to right are: Smiling Ghost - Pineapple -Hedgehog-Turtle-Angel.

The ghost because I do believe spirits are around us and I like to think the ones around me are friendly. The pineapple because one day I will own a condo in Hawaii, the hedgehog because it makes me think of family, the turtle because slow and steady wins the race and the angel because my guarding angel rocks.

My goodness this is quite the thing 4 of us bought charms today and at one point over lunch we were pouring over the catalogue plotting the next charm. For me they have to represent something not a whilly nilly buying spree.

Alright ready for tonights workout:

Warm Up

3x 20 sit ups

3x 10 toe touches

3x 10 lunges

3x 10 back extensions

3x assisted chin ups

3x assisted tricep dips

3x farmer's walk

Then:

50 lunges

50 pushups

50 situps

50 squats

50 lat pulldowns (27.5lbs)

Almost forgot 50 dumbell lifts, stand with knees slightly bent holding a 10lb weight in each hand at shoulder height, when you straighten your legs lift weights above your head - these just about killed me.

5 sets of 5 deadlifts of 60lbs.

By the 2nd set of deadlifts I was feeling nauseous. I finished but the whole way home on the bus (that takes bizillions of corners) it was deep breathing and eyes closed. Got home and had a glass of chocolate milk and then hit a hot bath.

He did say I worked hard tonight, not bad for a week and a half rest. He didn't make me sign for the class I missed either. So I have 16 sessions remaining, which I swear is too many but he's tracking. I see him again on Thursday but this time as part of a group training. I was watching these girls while I did my warm up it looks scary. If I do two sessions a week that's still two months.

I could accomplish a lot in two months especially if I go to the gym in between workouts with trainer and focus on cardio. Hmm tomorrow is yoga but I think I'll head to the gym on Wednesday for some treadmill work.

Alright must go meet the group to finalize the project. Hoping this online thing works tonight.

Hugs!

Tada

The Sephora Train Case empty and then......tada with the gobs of makeup I own. It sort of looks like a professional kit huh. As long as your as fair as I am and have green or hazel eyes I could definitely do your makeup. You see I have the love of the cheap stuff (maybelline) and the not so cheap stuff (smashbox). I weeded out a whack of stuff before I put everything in the kit. Mostly old stuff and some what the hell was I thinking (glittery purple eyeshadow). So now my mantra is nothing new goes in unless something comes out.

I also accomplished laundry today and in a few minutes I'm going to make a casserole for work lunch. I already made the brown rice in the steamer so it will that with some precooked turkey italian sausage and fresh veggies topped with cream of mushroom soup. I hope it turns out.

Today for lunch I tried the V8 Yellow Soup other wise known as corn with chipotle. It's spicy and it's alright but I don't think I'll get it again. It's higher on the point scale coming at 6pts for the box. The tomatoe version is lower in points.

My group was supposed to meet online at noon to finalize our group project but alas we all couldn't log in there was something wrong with the system. So we're trying again at 8pm.

I actually started tracking today and I walked to and from the grocery store. I didn't use my shopping cart today as I didn't need that much stuff so it was just a backpack.

That's all I got for now....later.

Just chillin'

I had plans for today, wash dishes (which I did), read chapter (didnt'), do laundry (didn't), organize new train case from Sephora - pictured (didn't) and write shopping list (didn't). Today was just chill, slept like 12hours and then had a nap at 2pm...because I could.

What I did do today was log into my work email 4 times. Then spent most of the day loading software so I could open SAP at home...why oh why.

I've never had a blackberry before this job, never wanted one either. I now know why this thing is called the "crackberry". I check it without even thinking about it. So after I logged into my work email remotely after wanting to check something based on an email I read on the Blackberry. I took care of two requests just because I was logged on. The bad thing about doing that is I'm setting up the expectation that I work weekends.

Then of course I read things that will bug me over the weekend. For example an email from someone we interviewed in December about his disappointment that I didnt' get back to him about not getting the job. Here's the thing I'm not the recruiter in charge of that job, I was covering the interview as that recruiter was away. Apart from being hr support to the hiring managers I don't talk to his people, he booked their interview and would create the offer letters or rejection letters. I talk to my people. The thing that irritates me about this too is this guy was referred by someone internally, in that case the hiring manager tells him the result of the interview. Now I feel like the bad guy when I didn't do anything wrong. So I forwarded this to the other recruiter and asked him if he wanted me to get back to this guy or if he'd prefer to.

Then the next email sings my praises and calls me dedicated. I need to seriously leave the blackberry on silent at the bottom of work bag on weekends. That's the new plan.

I found a take along shopping cart that doesn't make me look like a senior citizen, I'll take a picture tomorrow when the light is better. I tried to find one online but came up with nothing. It's made by a company called Urbana, it's a big canvas sack on wheels and can hold 40lbs. It's super light and looks to have decent wheels No longer will I contemplate the purchase of spaghetti squash based on if it can fit in my backpack. I can buy a 2l container of milk and juice in one trip. It's craziness I tell you. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that I don't have a vehicle and am not that fond of driving in general. I usually walk to the grocery store and back, or take the bus. Now that the weather is warming up I really prefer to walk. I'm testing this thing tomorrow.

Now I do have a few things to take care of tomorrow but I enjoyed by day of chillin'.

Later

Oy vey I need to get my act together

I don't know why I'm having such an issue with food lately. My meals aren't well planned, I'm making stupid decisions and what frustrates me most is I know better.

I'm kind of thinking about this Zone/Filling Foods business in conjunction with WW. I need to set myself some boundaries. I need to get back into the habit of making the right decisions.

Eating breakfast at 5am means I need a snack at 9ish. Waiting for lunch encourages bad choices. I need to pack my desk with healthy nibble options for the afternoon. I need to bring my damn lunch to work.

My lunch today was a jugo juice and a bag of chips....that's just ridiculous.

I used to be committed to this losing weight business and I need to find that girl again.

We had this two hour meeting this afternoon and when I walked back into my area a coworker commented that I looked like I lost weight. I haven't touched the scale since last weigh in but somehow I doubt that's true.

This is not about blaming myself or beating myself up. This is about facing facts and pulling up my socks.

Talk ya later...hugs!

Brrrrr

It was a balmy -28c with windchill this morning but I was wearing my Land's End long coat.
I look like I'm walking around in a sleeping bag but I don't care, when it's that cold out people are practically running to their next indoor destination and not observing what you're wearing. Plus I have the added bonus of technically I could sleep anywhere as this coat is wicked comfy.

I had a notice in my mailbox that I have parcel to pick up. I can't think what it is. I got an email from Sephora today saying my package shipped but that can't be it. Amazon would be freakishly fast if that was it. I'll wait for a few days as it's going to warm up.

My coffee experiment continues, one cream and one sugar not so good. I think I'm a two sugar kind of girl. I will try the milk as I suppose I should try it before I knock it.

I really find Tim Horton's an interesting place at 6:45am. It's truly a picture of society. There are the expensive suit people and the people you are fairly certain scraped together the 1.50 to buy that coffee. Tim doesn't judge. All are in line together and all know the comfort of a hot coffee on a cold day at a quarter to 7 in the morning.

Trainer called and cancelled Thursday, though he said I'm now booked for Monday and Thursday next week. Ha, if even tries to tease me about missing that first Thursday I now have ammo. My coworker trains with a different trainer there and I guess my trainer was telling her how I blew him off for a meeting. (I called at 10am to cancel a 5:30pm appointment). Yeah, yeah buddy I miss you too.

Tonight I will embrace the yoga. I ate crap all day today in an emotional combination of stress, being tired and it's freaking cold outside.

Did I tell you I'm seeing a psychic next Friday. This plan started when I was still at my old job and then plans continually change. I'm going to my friend/old coworkers house and we'll have dinner there. I signed up for an hour, what the heck apparently she's quite accurate. It begins with a palm reading, then a tea leaf reading and then the tarot. I'm curious as to what she says, I always take a huge grain of salt with these things but it will interesting what she says especially given the crazy times we're currently in. I'm supposed to bring a cassette tape, when I heard that I actually had the thought - Do they still make those?

I own a few tarot decks and I'm useless as I've never taken the time to really learn the cards. I do remember one memorable reading I did for a friend a very long time ago. Everything was freakishly on and one card even represented myself in their life. Until I realized I was reading the whole thing wrong. In actuality it was completely wacky and no relevance whatsoever. Apparently I'm really good if I make it up.

Alright that's it for now....later!

Roll up the rim

Hello, hello,
First of all let me address some questions. The BL Yoga DVD recommends you do the maximum results workout 3 times per week. I ordered it off of Amazon.ca, because I too couldn't find it in a store.

I was on the way to work on Monday giving myself a mini lecture in my head on how I shouldn't really buy coffee at Tim Horton's when my office provides it for free. Then a girl crossed the street holding a roll up the rim to win cup. All bets were off, I bought coffee in the off chance I can win the Toyota. Well there are 35 of them. It's so Canadian this contest. I won a donut on Monday and got a try again today.

This morning the line up was huge, but I perservered and it went really fast. Shout out to the Tim's in Bow Valley Square they're speedy.

I usually get the double/ double and for those of you that don't know that's two shots 18% cream and two shots of sugar. Clocks in at 7pt for an XLG. Yes it's evil.

Today I tried single cream, double sugar and it's 4pts and it was alright. Tomorrow I'll try single/single and see if I can bring it down to 3pts. Cream in my coffee is one thing I won't sacrifice. Normally at home it's canned milk but just plain milk does nothing for me in coffee unless it contains espresso.

I did yoga at home on Monday using the myyogaonline.com and I found an instructor I quite like, there's far more to explore. Went to my in person yoga class tonight and I didn't really enjoy it. I prefer a flow to my practice, move from pose to pose with breath. This class is more obscure instruction and lots of talk. I adore the teacher and it's good to be exposed to different styles but I just wasn't feeling it tonight.

Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow. I could hit the gym for cardio or it's more yoga. I'm embracing the yoga as I'm getting a wee stressed. Trainer is Thursday but I hear today that we may be required to work late on Thursday. I hope I know by tomorrow so I cancel my session with 24hrs notice.

Alright guys I'm off to bed, talk to you later.

Hugs!

BL Yoga - this is a workout

Alright my friends I tackled the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga dvd today and wowsers this thing is hard.

I'm not a yoga expert but I'm not a beginner either. I was sweating at level one. The poses themselves aren't super difficult but you hold them for a long time. Bob really really likes plank pose.

The DVD is structured like this:
Warm Up 5 min
Level 1 20min
Level 2 15 min
Level 3 10 min
Cool Down 5 min

You have two ways to do this, you can either choose from the options above and customize your workout or you can follow their "Maximum Results Program" over 6 weeks.
Week 1-2 is Warm Up, Level 1 and Cooldown
Week 3-4 is Warm Up, Level 1, Level 2 and Cooldown
Week 5-6 is all the options listed above.
They give a maintenance option which is 45min 3 times a week.

You have the option of having music and Bob's instruction or just music. I always love when they do that as you wind of memorizing the thing if you do often enough.

The cool down starts with a series of stretches vs. the traditional savasana. They do close in savasana (corpse pose) but given what this workout consists of I'd prefer a longer portion of that. The plugging of the boot camp dvd didn't exactly make me feel zen like.

I would consider this a weight workout as the focus is more on intensity then breath and correct posture. Bob's instruction is pretty good but I did see some former BL contestants seriously out of alignment trying to get there hand to the floor in poses like triangle. For my workout schedule I wouldn't have this replace a more traditional yoga routine but add it in addition.

Bill, Ali, Bernie, Michelle and Heba are the former contestants your following. This was shot during the season Michelle won. You've got a nice mix of body types to follow.
The thing I like about it is that it's challenging and really all you need is a yoga mat.

Have you tried this dvd yet? What were your thoughts?

Have a groovy Sunday!

Hockey Day in Canada

That meant 9 hours of hockey games were on the tube today, which means I got all of the chapters read in my textbook. I love hockey but I can't sit there and watch 3 games. Instead I read my textbook with hockey playing in the background.

Dad came into town this weekend which is fantastic as it's been a few months since I've seen him. Winter weather hampers the visits.

The hockey watching started about half way through the first game. I now have a crush on Mats Sundin from the second game. What a story book ending.

Started to watch the Calgary/Edmonton game and realized I was totally exhausted and thought I'd blog before hitting the hay.

Dad told me Friday night he was coming this morning so Friday night was spent washing floors, dusting and general "guest is coming" straightening up.

Thinking to the week ahead I've got to back on track. I was thinking about heading to Spa Lady as World Health is closed tomorrow. Then I thought of my long ago promise to review the Biggest Loser Yoga dvd. I'll definitely do that tomorrow.

Work lunch will be a turkey veggie lasagna. I think I need to get back into sticker rewards or bring a paper tracker with me. While I love the online thing, way to easy to do it and then record it.

I'll weigh in first thing tomorrow morning and see how the week has gone.

I finished watching last weeks episode of Biggest Loser and found it really interesting that the teams who didn't have gym access lost the most weight. I think it was due to them changing things up a bit and using there body more than machines.

I'll hit the gym on Monday for some treadmill work. Tuesday is yoga, Wednesday will be cardio, Thursday will be trainer and Friday will be sore muscles as I haven't worked out with trainer in over a week. I have this feeling he'll make up for lost time.

Talk to you later,
Hugs!

Back from Fort Mac

Yet again I found myself in a cab this morning at 4:30am. Was a bit concerned as the normal turn off to the airport was blocked by a police car so we had to go a different route and cab driver didn't seem so sure about where we were.

It was all good showed up in plenty of time and it's funny now that I know more people I recognize more. It's funny though how sometimes people can't place you because they're seeing you in a different place.

Fort Mac itself was fine the weather was the same as Calgary and it was great seeing my team since I haven't seen them in months. I wouldn't say I'm as close to them as the downtown group but there area few that are super great to connect with. By 2pm I was falling asleep at my computer. I'm not kidding, my head almost hit the keyboard. I made coffee and got complements on my coffee making skills. The trick was 1 and half packs.

I did get a lot done, it's a bit quieter environment than here but that can be a downfall too especially when your energy is zapped by 2pm.

So I'm heading to bed very soon. I just found Ru Paul's Drag Race on so I think I'll tape that.

Later

A sequence of long days

First off..I liked "He's just not that into you". Don't go if you're expecting an oscar worthy movie. If you want to be entertained and laugh out loud definitely see it. You'll love it especially if you're a girl and at some point in your life you've dated an idiot. For myself...been there, done that.

It's a likeable cast there are some kind of slow moments but I'm a hopeless romantic so I liked it.

I got my Halfmoon Yoga package today so I know own a travel mat and a zafu (pictured). Fantastic for sitting meditation. I have the blue one (twilight). It allows me to sit in a better posture and ensures my knees are happy. I adore their products I have bolsters from them too.

Today was interesting I had someone walk out of an interview (though it was quite evident in the first few minutes that it wasn't going anywhere). I had to rescind an offer letter and the people who really should have done it where being total jerks. Alas it's in the past.

On the up side I met new hiring managers today and they were fantastic. The colleague who never calls me back, called me today..twice. I seriously thought about buying a lottery ticket.

Tomorrow I'm on a plane at 6am to go to Fort Mac. My boss won't be there due to family reasons and everyone tonight was saying why are you going. I responded with because I said I would. I don't know if they'll still have a meeting but it's good to go see them as we're all the same team.

I actually get a lot done there. I find that always happens when your not surrounded by your normal environment.

I have an alarm going of at 3:30am so I should go to bed.

Yup it's going to be a long day tomorrow. Thank goodness the following day is Friday :)

Hugs!

Long day

It was so Tuesday masquerading as a Monday today. Everything seemed harder, every thought, every action and every effort. Perhaps it was due to the fantastic amount of sleep I got this weekend and the harsh reality of waking to an alarm look. Most likely it was acknowledging the long day I had ahead of me.

Working a full day and then having a 3 hour class is not easy. I'm in awe of the people who do it multiple times a week. It was definitely harder today coming off a long weekend.

I finally heard from Trainer who offered to train me on Thursday. I had emailed him telling him I was in Fort MacMurray on Thursday so apparently he's booked solid until next Thursday. So that's a week and a half of no one telling me to do outrageous things with weights. That's not good. I have to get my butt in the gym on my own this week. Which won't be until Friday this week.

Tomorrow it's dinner and a movie with work friends. We're going to see "He's just not that into you". I've read the book (multiple times) and given the book (multiple times) so I'm looking forward to it.

I feel generally blah today thanks to TOM, you know the hormonal, bloated blechiness of it all. I know it will pass but sometimes it sucks being a girl.

Alright off to bed and a more positive attitude.

Hugs!

I'm back...it's about The Bachelor

Yes, I admit it. I watch this show. At the end of last season when Jason was dumped I was practically screaming at my television about how that was so wrong. Absolutely couldn't believe she picked the snowboarder. Not that I have anything against snowboarders. I think a large number of women fell for Jason...myself included.

I really hoped he would come back as The Bachelor and I'm sitting here watching tonight's episode. Must do a shout out to Canadian time shifting which allows me to watch this on a Toronto channel 2 hours earlier than it would appear on a Calgarian channel.

So he's on his 3 dates in New Zealand. I'm won't spoil anything around that. What I'm more intrigued by is next week and Deanna's (sp?) return. She says the words "you haven't proposed yet" and then you see him exit a building sobbing. Oh my G! I'm intrigued. I don't want him to go back to her. I'm seriously rooting for Jillian and not just because she's an Alberta girl. I think she has more maturity than the other two and we must remember Jason has a son.

Way at the beginning of this show. A Canadian guy posted on You Tube who he thinks wins just based on the clips from future episodes in the first show. He picked Melissa based on a ring that shows in the shot of the proposal. In every episode since I've been scanning her hands and see no ring. Tonight she's wearing a ring. I so hope he's wrong.

The final two is approaching and "in the most dramatic departure of the season" - Does that guy not say that every episode.

So if Melissa wins this thing, note to the producers - don't give it away in the first episode!

I'm going to go so I don't reveal the final two and spoil anything.

Later

Family Day

Today is a holiday for some provinces in Canada. It's called Family Day and today while not with my family it's still good to have a long weekend.

I just schlepped a whack of groceries home. I'm set food wise that's for sure and fully prepared to take lunch to work and have fast options for supper.

While I'm waiting at the checkout I always observe what people are buying. The guy behind me loads of fruit, fresh veggies, lean protein and one box of vanilla ice cream. I like him.

I am obsessed with a game on my Itouch. It's called Yard Sale, it's kind of like Sims for home decorating. It's one of those hide and seek games where you search for objects hidden among the screen. It sucks the energy out the Itouch though, so I have to charge it daily when I get into this game. I find myself saying things like "Where the heck is the pineapple".

Off to do the rough copy of my paper, hope your Monday is fantastic.

Hugs!

Where does it come from?

I got half of the cleaning I wanted to do done today. Still haven't started that paper...I'm a far better writer in a crunch.

I got my Norwegian cleaning stuff today. The company is called Norwex. I bought the mattress spray which apparently takes care of the dust mites that reside in your mattress. Yeah, I try not to think about it. A couple of the people at the cleaning party use it and found that signficant others snored less.

I got a package with a varity of cloths. I've already tried the glass one. That thing cleans mirrors/ windows ets. with just water. It does a bang up job I must say.

There's an antibacterial cloth that you just use with water for bathroom/ kitchen. Of course you don't use the same cloth on each room, but the thing is huge so I'll cut it in half. There's also a dish scrubby cloth and their version of the Mr. Clean eraser that's more "friendly".

Today I just did the mattress stuff, dusted and vacuumed. I used their duster mitt which is quite remarkable. This thing picked up dust without swooshing it around and you just beat it against the side of the house outside and it's amazing how much dust this holds. I'm also quite fond of Swiffer but I guess there's a theory that Swiffer is not so good if you have children around. Not sure if that's true. The mitt came in the kit.

If you've reading this blog for awhile you know I have Dyson. It continually amazes me what collects in your house when you empty the thing out.

Tomorrow I tackle the kitchen and the bathroom. I also need to go grocery shopping. I was going to go today but it was kind of chilly so I thought I'd leave it to the single digit minus weather of tomorrow. My plan is to do all of this in the morning so I can tackle the paper after lunch. The goal is just a draft.

I'm going to make a WW recipe for Spaghetti Turkey Pie and my go to meatloaf as my protein options for work lunch and a few suppers. I'll buy lunch on Thursday as I'll be in Fort Mac for the day.

I logged into my WW online for the first time in a few weeks and got to tracking again. Why is it that we can be so on plan and then BOOP we're so off plan?

Oy vey it's all about baby steps. My focus for the week is water and tracking . That's been stupendously bad as of late.

So my friends, why do you fall off plan and what does it take to get you back on track?

Hugs!

Ahhh Sleep

I went to bed last night at around 9pm and I woke up this morning at 10:30am. Ahhh Bliss...
I've been knackered for the last few days that's for sure.

There's a long weekend this weekend and I'm thrilled. I need to write a rough copy of my part of the group project and I need to sort out food.

I'm in a nasty habit of buying lunch which is getting dangerous. Not just calorie wise but I could be saving money. My suppers turn into things that are fast i.e McCain's fries. Not good my friends not good at all.

So with this extra day this weekend I can get myself a bit better organized with cleaning house and grocery shopping and research.

I need to call trainer on Tuesday. I left a message early Thursday to say I couldn't make that night and I never heard from him. I'm a bit irritated by that as I was asking about arranging for next week. Now I have a commitment on Wednesday so the only day I can go is Friday next week. I don't think I need to fly anywhere the following week so I should be able to resume my normal schedule.

Oh I meant to tell you about a find. I was talking to my neighbours at yoga the week before last and she mentioned a website she found www.myyogaonline.com. For a little under $100 US you get unlimited full screen yoga, pilates and meditation videos for just over a year. That's less than $10 a month. I think they're based in Vancouver so I don't get the american fee but I recognized one of the instructors from the Kate Potter videos.

It's got every kind of yoga from beginner to advanced and the instruction and visuals are fantastic. It's like your own personal yoga instructor. You can pick videos by time as well from 15min and beyond so it's perfect. As you search through you can add them to a my practices list so you don't need to go looking again.

At some point this weekend I'll give the Biggest Loser Yoga my full attention. So I'll write about that soon.

Picked up the new Clean Eating magazine so I'm hoping that gives me some inspiration for healthy lunches and dinners.

I should go shovel snow. Have a great Saturday!!!

Back from the North

Well my overnight stay at camp went really well. I worked from 7am to 8pm but everywhere I went people were happy to see me. It's a bit like being a rock star.

The food was awesome (not necessarily healthy).
The room while a fair distance from camp, if you miss the bus you need to find someone to drive you, was great. Double bed, own bathroom with shower, desk with internet plug in, flat screen tv with Telus cable tv.

I didn't check in until 9pm and by then I was wicked over-tired, took me forever to fall asleep. I think I hit the deepest sleep 20min before I had to get up. There was construction near by so I could hear the faint beep, beep, beep of trucks backing up throughout the night.
Next time I need to remember ear plugs and a water bottle.

In the morning it was freaking freezing, I'm estimating -30 something with wind.

Plane ride home was fine.

Got to the office and it was a bit frustrating. I've got a lot to do but I can't start anything because I'm missing info. I got a bit irritated as many of my coworkers are doing offer letters for an area they don't understand. What irritated me was when some of them were judging the process that this area uses.

I flashed back to my start date when they were all very clear that I reported to a different area and I always got the feeling they considered their area to be superior. I think that's bunk, no area is better than the other. Quite frankly I prefer my area, I'm a bit more self reliant and keep my hands on project longer which I prefer.

I was probably a little sensitive to it due to being fairly tired.

Though recruiting has slowed down, one of my hiring managers at site was offering me work to do. He's rather particular so I was honored that he would offer that to me. I told my boss about it and she said "You're not looking for a job". Which I took as encouraging, as no one has told me about my future with the company now that the division I originally supported as ceased to exist. My colleague at site wanted to clone me.

I cancelled trainer this evening as I'm exhausted. I'm hoping to see him next week on Wed and Fri. Mon is a holiday so I'm looking forward to a long weekend.

Alright guys, talk to you later.

Tonight's workout

This evening was the regular warm-up:
Do 3 times
20 sit ups
10 back extensions
10 toe touches
10 samson stretches
10 chin ups
10 tricep dips
Farmer's walk

Then I did 5 sets of 5 deadlifts with 65lbs (hey, I impressed myself when trainer demonstrated it looked like he was working it)

Then:
row for 500m
10 dumbell swings - 15lbs
10 burpees
10 dumbell thrusters - 20lbs
row 400m
10 dumbell swings - 15lbs
10 burpees
10 dumbell thrusters- 20lbs
row 300m
10 dumbell swings - 15lbs
10 burpees
10 dumbell thrusters - 20lbs

Then:
30 push ups
30 lunges
30 situps
20 push ups
20 lunges
20 situps
10 push ups
10 lunges
10 situps

I know there's a six pack somewhere in the flabby bits. I was exhausted when I was done and barely squeezed out the last sit up. Apparently some guy noted to my trainer that I worked hard. Cool.

Even trainer said I do tougher workouts then some of the guys...mwhahahahaha!

It is interesting working out with all the manly men at that gym. I just shake my head at some of them and they're hogging of equipment and the grunting.

You can tell the new year's resolution people are gone. When I first joined it would be fairly busy right after work. Now hardly any one there.

I have absolutely nothing entertaining to add this evening.
I hope you are all well.

Hugs

A weekend just needs one extra day

Hello hello,
Well today has been good. Read the chapter I needed for my group meeting, group meeting was done in half an hour. Did laundry and bought milk. Went to the neighbours Norwegian cleaning product party.

I didn't have time to grocery shop so I just ran to the corner store to buy milk. I think I'm o.k foodwise for the week and I'll be away one day anyway.

Tonight I need to put clothes away as opposed to living out of the laundry basket.

Watched all the super bowl commercials. Hands down favourite was the Potatoe Head Goodyear commercial, made me laugh out loud.

Might watch Wall-E off the shaw on demand tonight.

Want to be in bed at a decent hour as it's going to be a series of long days for the rest of this week.

Monday - work and trainer
Tuesday - work and yoga
Wednesday - ridiculously early flight and all day at site
Thursday - ridiculously early flight back and straight into office - then trainer
Friday - I think I'm going home early

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

I'm a genius, well I think anyway

About a week and a half ago my ipod Touch would no longer talk to my wireless router. It was just boom it stopped working. I would try to reconnect and it would just say...nope.

So today I logged into my router and added the ITouch as a computer, entering the mac address and shazaam it works again. This is why I'm thinking I'm a genius right now as I figured it out all by myself.

My whole body is feeling the effects of the workout with trainer. From my ankles to the top of my shoulders. Lifting my arms is torture and pretty darn funny when I try to pull something over my head. Last night getting off the couch could have been considered an attempt at a Cirque de Soleil act.

Today was cardio day but I had a bizillion errands so it was walking outside.

First I went to the German deli Edelweiss. I love this place as it brings me back to my youth. You can hear the Deutsche Volkmusik (German Folk music) as you approach the doors . My mom would play this music all the time, I despised it then but now it makes me nostalgic.

When I walk in it smells like home. It brings back memories of Kafezeit (coffee time at 3pm-ish every day) out comes the Kuche mit Schlagsahne ( cake and whipcream not to mention awesome coffee). How we'd evite family friends over for Kafezeit and it would always turn into a supper of cold cuts, cheeses, pickled beats, pickles and amazing breads and buns. (All arranged in cute dishes and baskets) Same would happen when we were invited to their house.

I was there to buy raspberry syrup for my dad. The european version is totally different than what I can get at the local supermarket (more liquid than super sticky). It's actually from Poland but this deli carries a lot of European stuff. When I was waiting in line to pay I was right in between the case of cakes and the buns...torture. I walked out with just the syrup passing by the display case of all those amazing cold cuts.

When I got home I realized I had library book due so I walked to the library and back and then delivered the community newsletter as a favour to my neighbour. By the time I got home my ankles were achy because of course I was running around in snow boots.

As I was traversing all over the city today I really noticed how much things are always changing in Calgary. I noticed a new building going up downtown and it took me awhile to figure out what was there before. When I delivered newletters there was a row of 5 houses that were gone, no trace of them totally demolished most likely part of the west c-train expansion. It was weird that they were there and now there gone. I think saw about a dozen building cranes looming over various projects today.

I think I'll sleep well tonight. Tomorrow is an online meeting with the people from my group project. They booked two hours, I'm praying it's less than that. Later I'm off to the neighbours for a cleaning party - instead of tupperware it's cleaning stuff.

Next week will be crazy busy at work and I get to go to site on Wednesday and stay overnight in camp. This will be the first time I do the camp thing so I'm actually really looking forward to it. I did look up the weather and here it's supposed to be -1 and there -17...fun!

Later!

Can muscles turn to jello?

This is a thought that popped into my head as trainer tortured me.

I was fooled into thinking it might not be so hard today when he removed the farmer's walk (holding disk weight over your head) - I'm not crazy about that one only because you need to walk across the whole freakin's gym. He also said don't do the chin ups and tricep dips. I wondered what he had up his sleeve.

OMG! He's either a genius or my worst enemy. I had to do this:

2min going full out on the rowing machine
20 dumbell squats (20lbs-10lbs in each hand)
20 Push ups
20 skull crushers (lying on your back on the bench hold a weighted bar straight up. You hold the bar more towards the middle so when you elbows bend they're perpendicular not bowing out now lower it so it almost touches your forehead and then straighten your arms again) 20lbs
20 Bicep curls (20lbs)
20 Dumbell Swings (15lbs)
20 Dumbell Thrusters (20lbs - 10lbs each hand)

I had to do this 3 times, the last round took me forever as my muscles were shaking. His girlfriend was doing the exact same routine but had to do it 4 rounds. Mind you she's uber fit but she was squaking the whole time.

So after I finish blogging I'm going straight into a hot bath with the hopes I can move my arms tomorrow. When I finished he asked me if I wanted to the rower once again. My goodness this got harder each time I did it because I could feel it in my arms, back, abs and legs. I told him I still had to walk to the bus stop.

Since recruiting has pretty much come to a stand still recently my office mates are desperately trying to win "Breakfast in Bermuda" a local radio contest. So far 7 of them have qualified. 15 people qualify a week over 8 weeks and there are 8 trips. We have super speedy phone lines at work so I'm going to try to qualify tomorrow at 7:11am.

Off to soak the muscles...later!

I tried the Biggest Loser Yoga DVD briefly the other day. I was exhausted and felt committed to you all to write a review. I was expecting a nice stretch, zen like yoga. I was mistaken.
This is workout yoga, Bob is telling you what to do but not in a calming let us all breathe together kind of way. I had to stop because I was going to hurt myself. You need to be awake for this one or you'll fall over.

I'll write a proper review when I actually do the whole dvd which will probably be this weekend.

Now what...

I've now read all of Charlaine Harris - Sookie Stackhouse novels with the exception of the most recent which is now on my request list at the library. Now I need some new fun reads, I've got plenty to read that's informative or educational but I want fun.

The books were the inspiration for the show True Blood, I don't subscribe to HBO Canada so I'm looking forward to the DVD release which is in May so not that long. There's a new Sookie Stackhouse novel coming out at the same time.

Interesting sight on my way to the grocery store today. I was walking to the store and I see this guy exit a house that's under construction. This would normally not be abnormal but he was shirtless and it's not exaclty warm outside. He turned down the alley to parts unknown. But may I say he looked really good with no shirt on :)

The grocery store was busy and when I looked at people's carts they were crammed with snacks. Then of course I remembered - Super Bowl. I don't particularly care about Super Bowl but I enjoy the commercials. I did not stray from my shopping list so I'm quite proud of myself for that. As the store was packed with snack temptations.

I will be trying the Biggest Loser yoga workout tonight so I'll give you a review tomorrow.

Have a groovy Sunday!

Hugs!