happy thanksgiving

this past weekend was canadian thanksgiving. i only had one dinner to attend (my bf's family's dinner) because my own family is visiting relatives in winterpeg, manitoba. so i did have a big dinner one night (with two slices of cake - not pie - for dessert) but it's over and a) i have no leftovers and b) i don't feel like my pants are any tighter than they were on friday, haha. i am actually kind of sad that i don't have leftovers. normally when my mom makes thanksgiving dinner, i am sent home with a giant bag of white turkey meat, green beans, leftover mashed turnip, etc. yummmmmmmm. i usually peel the turnips so i feel like i deserve them! ;) the idea to buy a turkey myself and cook it actually crossed my mind. of course i am not going to do that. i don't even have the proper kitchen equipment to make a turkey (a big pan) and i really don't need all of that meat considering i hardly ever eat meat when i'm alone. (no reason, just cuz.)


i had a couple of good runs on the weekend - one on saturday and one yesterday (monday). both were four miles. i LOVE running on days when i don't have to work. it really is so enjoyable to wake up, eat a little something and hit the pavement. and i LOVE running in this cooler weather. i think this winter i might try running outdoors. i will have to buy a few things to stay warm, but it's probably worth it. does anyone have any tips (layering, brands to buy, how to keep your mp3 player from freezing) for me?

this is also my last week of half-marathon recovery from my online training plan. here is the plan:

monday: 40 minutes running (complete!)
tuesday: 40 minutes cross-training
wednesday: rest
thursday: 40 minutes running
friday: 30 minutes cross-training
saturday: 5 miles running
sunday: rest

do-able? i think so. i might switch tonight's cross-training (probably swimming) and my rest day tomorrow, since tonight i have book club. i also want to start doing weight training but i feel like i have to go into the gym with a plan instead of flopping from machine to machine.

AND finally - i have some very exciting news to share with everyone - but it has to remain under wraps for now. it's more professional than personal, but it's something i've wanted to start doing for a long time. stay tuned!

new pop alert

i am still crazy busy with work. tomorrow is july 1 canada day! happy birthday (in advance) country. i love being canadian. except for cold winters, canada is the bomb-diggety. anyhoo - tomorrow i have to work because my company decided to make friday our holiday instead. hello long weekend instead of weird mid-week day off! great success.

in other news, last saturday i was walking around with my bf in his hood. we wanted some diet pop to mix our drinks with and the store we usually frequent was already closed. there was a funny little fruit market type of place across the street so we went there. inside i found a diet raspberry ginger ale. i mixed it with white wine and it was DIVINITY. i thought it was a ridiculous brand from far away called "weight watchen" but in fact it is called waist watcher and is made by weight watchers AND is sugar free, aspartame free, caffeine free and sodium free. it does contain splenda which a lot of people badmouth. i like diet pop dammit. i like it and i'm going to continue to drink it. check out the flavors in the link. they only had a couple in store and nothing crazy like chocolate or vanilla cream, but still. i have a feeling these bottles being in canada was a giant fluke but only time will tell!

monday list

1) it's lunchtime munch time. i just ate a full-fat fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt that expired on May 5. IT WAS STILL GOOD. i brought two yogurts just in case. i hardly ever eat full-fat yogurt. actually the tub says 2.5% milk fat which is hardly full fat. still, it was very creamy and delicious. fruit-on-the-bottom is bad for you because it's loaded with sugar but what do i care? i don't.

2) i've thought about it and decided that raspberries are my favourite fruit. they are just so damn good. i like them fresh, frozen, thawed, hot, cold, sour, sweet - gimme gimme gimme. i even like them at the bottom of my full-fat fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt.

3) on saturday i took my new garmin out for a spin and it was the GREATEST THING EVER! except it's very large on my wrist - my only complaint. i had already set up the hrm part but didn't load the satellites until saturday. load the satellites? i never thought i'd be typing those words... what a geek. anyway - i had a great run. some of it was rainy but i was so into tracking my speed and pace and distance that it didn't matter. my bf leant me this super old megadeth hat so the drops wouldn't hit my face. i bet i looked really hardcore - running in the rain (hardcore) AND wearing a megadeth hat (extra hardcore).
4) i am going to run tonight after work by the lake unless i am exhausted. i got 5.5 hours of sleep last night and waking up this morning was BRUTAL.

5) i have to get to sleep early tonight because tomorrow night i am going to a bachelorette party. i don't think it will go too late and i don't think there will be much drinking involved HOWEVER i need stamina.

6) eating was NOT good this weekend. candy, a burger, fries TWICE, late night pizza ... ugh.

7) long weekend coming up - HOORAY!

8) thank you all for the nice comments on my hair. i am really digging it :)

a little stressed

sorry i didn't post yesterday. i am draining my own mental energy. here is the scoop going through my head right now.

i am in line for two jobs. both have good aspects and bad aspects. one pays more, but i think in my mind i've decided i'd prefer the other one. they are both in my field, but very different career paths. i had one interview for the job i'd prefer on wednesday, and i think they are deciding soon, because they said they wanted someone to start working by the end of next week. yesterday, i had the second interview for the other job and they are choosing between three candidates. they will let me know on monday for sure.

now, here is where my mental stress begins. what if i am offered both jobs? what if i am offered the job on monday and not offered the other job until it is too late to accept or not accept the first one? what if i am offered neither job!?!?!?! it could happen. after my interviews i was thinking gung ho, thinking i'd be offered both. but the more time passes, the more i am second guessing myself.

the rational side of my brain is telling me not to worry. i can't do anything about it until monday at the very earliest, unless something happens this afternoon. i hope it does. it would be the greatest holiday gift if i could start the new year with a new job.

anyway. today is friday weigh in and i am down another 2.4 from last week, which means i am very close to the bottom of my maintenance range, and the lowest number i've ever seen. i had a cookie to celebrate. it was free at the bank ;) now my holiday goal is just to stay within my range. i have some wiggle room and i'm ready to paaarrrrrtteeeeee! :)

i found some very exciting holiday treats on the kraft website. i am all about the least amount of ingredients and baking possible.

check it out:
chocolate clusters: my mom used to make these (except with no butter or peanut butter) and they are heavenly. the best of sweet and salty and crunchy too.
merry meringues: the cooking part is a bit time consuming, but easy and low calorie too. and i just looooooovvveeee meringues.
teddy s'more bark: if this isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen! so cute. not really christmasy, but who cares!
no bake holly cookies: amazing! and look how cute they are. i imagine they taste like rice crispy treats.

a tuesday list

a list format:

1. exercise was great this weekend. a 40 minute swim and 25 minute bike ride on saturday, on sunday day 3 week 3 of the couch to 5k, and monday another 40 minute swim.

2. unfortunately the running on sunday caused some pretty bad bum pain, and i was limping around on sunday and monday. frustrating!!!

3. i think i've figured out that i can only run in the evenings, on pain free days. for some reason running in the morning or early afternoon hurts me. :(

4. food was not so great this weekend. but it's over, and i'm over it.

5. i had a job interview this morning and i think it went pretty well. :)

6. i forgot my make-up case at my parent's house last night and thus had no make-up (foundation) for this morning and had to go to shopper's drug mart at 8am to buy some.

7. yes, i am one of those girls who doesn't leave the house without makeup. except this morning going to buy make-up of course!

8. i bought a new scale that measures body fat and hydration levels because my other scale is starting to be on the fritz. i don't know how i feel about it. a) the scale reads one pound lower than my other digital scale. b) at first it said i had 12.6% body fat which is ridiculous. but then i read online that you aren't supposed to check that stuff when you first wake up or right after exercising. so later in the day it read 16% which is still pretty weird. i don't know. i was expecting around 20% but maybe i'm more buff than i thought? does anybody know more about this?

9. i am drinking a pumpkin spice tea from tim hortons. sooooooo tasty!

10. i'm not sure if i will exercise tonight. maybe. i really want to get into the elliptical again because they burn a lot of calories and are right in front of the tvs, but the ones in my condo gym are so stiff. and the bar for magazines is so weirdly placed. anyhoo.

11. i really feel like i'm getting out of shape. i don't know why. i feel like things are a bit out of control. maybe it's because i don't have a steady job yet or because my apartment always seems to get messy so fast. i need a better routine dammit!

oh canada, our home and native land

happy canada day everyone! i am going to a bbq later but first a nice run outside. i already put on sunscreen - i am just waiting for my ipod to charge. i do have 2 other mp3 players but one doesn't have an arm band OR a pants hook thingie, and the other has a sporty armband and is giving me a weird arm band tan. i will wear it if i have to but prefer not to. yes, i am that vain! ;)

what's the point

what is the point of eating too many holiday sweets, exercising less, gaining weight, and then complaining about it later, feeling fat and frumpish, wondering why it seemed okay to stuff it in at the time? there is no point really. in my mind there are two options for the holidays. okay three. actually four.

1) eat more, exercise more, and maintain a nice weight.

2) eat more, exercise less, and gain weight (double f=fat and frumpish).

3) eat less, exercise less, and maintain weight.

4) eat less, exercise more, and lose weight (ha ha ha).

i would choose, in order: 1, 3, 2, 4.

i have made plans to go to the gym (plans = made time and definitely will go, since it's just downstairs ha) tonight and tomorrow night. i also went on monday so that's pretty good for the week. i am now loving this condo gym. it's always empty enough that i can get on any machine i want. and having those TVs is a huge bonus because now at the end of my workout sometimes i'll just ride the stationary bike for 20 minutes watching a program of my choice... it's like nothing!

three more days of work until christmas break - yabba dabba doooooooo!

today i'm eating:
2 slices of whole wheat bread with PB2 peanut butter
fat free cottage cheese with mixed berries (already in the bottom)
pc blue menu whole wheat penne with roasted vegetables

and hopefully that's it until dinner time. :)