busy

my stomach is wonky today - blame being a woman!

last night i cleaned the kitchen - under the sink, the sinks themselves, under the stove and fridge, in the fridge, in the microwave, the counter tops and cabinet doors, etc. i didn't get to the bathroom because i couldn't be bothered. i went for a 5-mile run along the lake. it was good but i put my zune in the back pocket of my tighty spandex shorts and then one of the earphones kept cutting out after the 3.5 mile mark. i have a feeling it's because the zune was getting damp due to sweat. sick i know - i won't make that mistake again. hopefully it just dried and will work again.

last night i also worked on a picture i drew for my boyfriend for our 30 monthaversary. it's a pinup. i just took a picture with my laptop but i can't post it until i give it to him. it's not my best work - really i could have put more effort into it, but things are getting crazy and i'm happy i did anything at all.

the good news is that tomorrow's book photo shoot is postponed due to rain. good because i have lots of work to do in the office and i can have a regular schedule and celebrate my birthday on time. ;)

tonight is the no doubt concert. i am going with my bf and my bff who is coming after work. since i get off at 4 i might have time for a swim before she arrives, although i have to tidy the bathroom as well. messiness = personal embarrassment. ok i'm definitely swimming. i also have to pick up milk for breakfast on the way home. i have to make dinner for the three of us. my bff is bringing greens from some garden thing she grows out of (community something or other?) and i am making lean chicken cheese meatballs from sobeys (YES) and whole wheat pasta with tomato paste. i am all about using the paste as sauce. i hate when things are too saucy and by things i just mean pasta. i like a saucy pizza. SAUCY.

this week i have been trying to eat breakfast before i leave for work. it's rushed so cereal and milk, but i find it's holding my hunger off until my midmorning vitatop snack perfectly. i used to have a vitatop in the car, then breakfast at work, but i'd rather eat the bigger part first. that way you start the day feeling pleasantly full and that's better than being sort of moderately hungry - wouldn't you agree?

anyway, that's that! booyah. i still haven't uploaded my pictures from saturday but others have and they are exactly the same. ha.

not in the mood - 10 randoms

i'm just not in the mood for blogging ... yesterday OR today!


so here is a quick list of what's going DOWN:

1) blog meet up girls - i posted this question on FB but no one is responding - do you have any sort of itinerary for drinks/dinner on friday or saturday. i want to join you for dinner one night (probably saturday) but i need to plan ahead, if possible. no stress if you don't have a plan yet.

2) I REGISTERED FOR THE MARATHON! no backing out now. training begins the week of the 22nd. i know i can do it even though i've never run that far before - it will be my greatest physical achievement ... SO FAR!

3) i am full time back on the oats. no green monsters this week. sorry greenies but i missed oatmeal in the morning - so filling and delicious.

4) tomorrow at work we are having a potluck to test recipes for an upcoming cookbook. i am making a potato salad. i have to shop at lunch for potatoes, eggs, cucumber and avocado oil. i have never tried this avocado oil before - it better not be expensive!

5) speaking of expensive, i am now very poor due to my car repairs. but i put it on my amex with air miles so just think about how many air miles i'll be getting. silver lining on a cloud? not really.

6) last night i did an old workout in my condo gym. i used to do this all the time. it goes like this:

5 minutes walking (speed 4.0, incline 1%)
10 minutes running (speed 6.0 to 6.2 mph)
break for 5 minutes of arm weights
10 minutes running
break for 5 minutes of arm weights
10 minutes of running
5 minutes walking (speed 4.0)
a few more minutes of walking (reducing speed) until i reach a total of 4 miles
100 sit ups (different kinds)
stretches
20 push ups (girl ones)

it's a fast workout, just over an hour but effective. and since you only run for 10 minutes at a time, it's not too boring and your heart rate stays elevated for longer than just running alone.

7) if there is a sobey's supermarche near you - go there right now. go to the frozen food section and buy the sobey's brand lean chicken and cheese meatballs. they are 100 calories for 4 and the tastiest meatballs i have ever had. last night i made dinner with sauteed broccoli, baby tomatoes and roasted red peppers from a jar, and six meatballs cooked in the oven, all drizzled with garlic salt and chili lime hot sauce. yum yum. i was hungry later though, so be warned if you try it at home.

8) last night i watched benjamin button and it was good.

9) in exactly one week and let's say 7 hours i'll be watching no doubt live WOOHOO!

10) in exactly one week and ten or eleven hours i'll be 28 instead of 27. noooooooooooooo! can't i stay young 4eva? will it help if i type like a youngster? 4eva? i think step one would be not to say "youngster." ;)

and one bonus - tonight i am planning on a swim, i think. i am going to try to attempt a morning run tomorrow. i'll have to get up VERY early but i want to get in the habit of running before work since i'm going to be training in the hot summer and want to run while it's still mildly cool outside.

friday update and rondom facts

the good news is it’s friday, i got my hair done yesterday and it looks awesome, i’m drinking a skinny cinnamon dolce latte from starbucks and i didn’t have to pay for it, and i lost 1.2 pounds this week (despite thanksgiving) putting me back into the very high end of my maintenance range.

isn’t that nice? the bad news is that i emailed a company i’ve has five yes FIVE interviews with and they informed me that they’ve hired someone else. this isn’t the same company as the interview i had earlier this week, by the way. but i’m really disappointed... what a bummer. i really thought they would offer me a job, too. :(

tonight i am going to a girl’s sleepover? isn’t that fun? although last time this happened some boyfriends came... lame! guys should not come to a girl’s sleepover. maybe they get some sort of thrill about raiding a girl party... i don’t know.

in other news, both fitting back in and vanessa tagged me to share some random facts about myself, so here we go:

1) i lived in leeds, england for ½ a year in university. i loved it there, although i was very homesick.
2) one of my very favourite movies is the secret garden.
3) i can’t eat whipped cream because it gives me horrible stomach pains and (shhh) gas.
4) yesterday i went to the library and randomly picked up a book on tape (cd). now i am obsessed with it. i put disc one onto my mp3 player and listened to it on the transit last night and this morning. and then this morning i listened to ½ of disc two on the way to the suburbs. the book is “light on snow” by anita shreve and it’s so good. it’s about a 12-year-old girl and her father who live in the middle of nowhere and find a newborn in the woods. the voice reading the book isn’t annoying at all. i was worried that it would be too slow, but it’s not.
5) this morning i saw a dead bird on the sidewalk, outside of my boyfriend’s apartment. it looked like it just fell out of the sky. it was on it’s back and it’s legs were sticking up rigor mortis-like. maybe it was an omen about not getting the job. and then my mom said there is a dead cat in the alley (beside the building).... weird!
6) this one will actually be about me. i like being very efficient with my time. this is probably why i hate driving... because i hate sitting in traffic. i don’t mind transit, because i can be reading and that’s a worthwhile thing to be doing. i like to get the most amount of things and stuff done in the shortest amount of trips.

happy weekend everyone. i’m going to resist the twizzler straws!

slaughterhouse

sew i didn't finish my dress in sewing last night but it's ok. i put in one sleeve. i have to go back and finish the rest some other time. here is a bit of an nsv. my sewing teacher made ice cream sandwiches for everyone with homemade strawberry ice cream. at first i wasn't going to have one but really, denying yourself pleasures like homemade ice cream is not living, it's deprivation. so i took one, ate the ice cream from the middle and threw out the cookies. they were just chips ahoy or whatever. yah good tasting, but available to me whenever i want so i'm not really depriving myself of anything there.

when i got home i cleaned up a little, and then did the denise austin power yoga plus video i got at the library last week. i wanted to feel stretched and relaxed. i find that my posture feels improved every time i do yoga or pilates and i really like that feeling.

this morning i got up early and had a 4-mile run. it wasn't the best. i tried a new route in order to spice things up, but my right shin was bothering me. i am going to have to stay off it. i'll ice it tonight and see if that helps. i find it doesn't hurt if i just run for 10 minutes at a time on the dreadmill, only when running longer distances outside.

this is totally unrelated, but i live right by a pig slaughterhouse. not joking. one of the main streets near my abode is sort of an off ramp from the highway, and when i turn on it (on my bike... going to work or whatever) i often see a) a giant truck full of pigs with their snouts poking out of holes snorting at me or b) the same truck heading the other way but empty. if you wanted to know, pig slaughterhouses don't smell too good. also i have heard the poor little piggies screeching before. my writing style can be flippant but i am really bothered by this. i really don't eat much pork - maybe a pork chop once in a while at my parent's house. i think that if i lived in close contact with other animals, i would be hesitant to eat them as well. like chickens or cows.... how do farmers do it? seeing those poor little snouts... heading for death... sad.

it bothers me. lately i have been bothered by something else. there is this crazy woman who begs for money and food by my work. she is really crazy - always sobbing hysterically and sitting in the pouring rain even when their is an awning nearby. sometimes i give her food. she is in her twenties but looks older due to the harsh elements. anyway, i just noticed this week that she is six months pregnant. i can't stop thinking about it. how did she get pregnant? what is going to happen to that poor baby? was she raped? was she forced to sleep with someone for money or drugs? it's very upsetting. i think these things happen as a result of poor family situations. i am lucky to have nice and supportive parents. :(

on that note... in addition to my regular workouts, i've been doing 100 situps a day in order to prep myself for bikini weekend. normally i do 80 situps, maybe 3-4 times a week. i went to this same cottage around the same time last year and i was 127 pounds. some of my pictures from that time are flattering, although i remember feeling really... what's the word... um... well i wished my stomach was flatter and that the sides of my stomach were tighter. although that was my lowest weight to date so i felt pretty good about myself. this year is definitely a huge improvement so i'm looking forward to taking some comparison shots.

today for lunch i'm having a tuna sandwich with light mozzarella and tomato slices. the tuna is clover leaf lemon and pepper flavoured... delicious. :o)

some random thoughts

first thought: this morning whilst riding my bike to work, i was really reminded of the weather on vancouver island. it was humid and foggy, but not hot. i miss victoria. my grandparents used to live there but not anymore as they are all deceased. it's weird how times and places and people in live change. yes i am very deep. the point is victoria is a wicked city.

second thought: last night there were crazy thunderstorms. the lightning was so bright that i think it hit the ground right outside of my building several times. my cat oliver was so scared, he was doing the snake walk haha. somehow his legs disappear and he slithers on the ground to some hiding spot. maybe he thinks he is safer being so close to the ground. anyway it looks ridiculous.

third thought: my mexican dinner was a huge success. for me anyway. i was really impressed with myself. my boyfriend liked it too, but he's not as familiar with mexican-type food as i am. he said, "what is this mushy hunk?" about the refried beans. ha! the best part is i have leftovers for lunch today.

fourth thought: i drank way too much white wine last night. normally i am a red girl, but i wanted something cool and refreshing. i think it kind of made me toss and turn in the night and i am not feeling that hot today. not hung over at all, but whenever i drink too much, i feel overly sensitive.

fifth thought: i still got up and hit the gym because i am hardcore. i did three times ten minutes running on the treadmill with arm weights in between and then stretches and 100 sit-ups of different varieties at the end. whenever i do arm weights and look in the mirror at the gym i feel like a real beefcake... you know when you are lifting weights and right after your muscles are kind of plumped up (in a good beefcake way). it always makes me think about being a female boxer. i am sort of tuff, i could do it maybe. i am way tougher than any other girl in my immediate circle of friends/family. kapow!

sixth thought: tonight is my last sewing class. i hope i get everything done in time. and then i hope i continue to make things outside of class.

seventh thought is today's menu:

fiber one with almond butter

pc multigrain oatmeal with flax, cinnamon, pumpkin, 1/2 banana and blueberries

fat free yogurt

vanilla protein shake

leftover mexicano

plum

fat free yogurt with blueberries

cocoa mole larabar

finally the day has arrived

what day is that? the day i am going to see sex and the city with my girlyfriends, that's what. i wanted to avoid the crowds in the theatres on opening weekend because i can be easily bothered at the movies. and in life. people doing things like talking too loudly or hitting the back of my seat really puts me into a rage. food noises don't really bother me (at the movies haha).

i brought my dinner to work (to avoid eating a giant popcorn) and then i'm going to walk to the theatre. the show starts at 6:50, which is good because we are going to my friend's house to have a few drinks after, and i heard that the movie is 2 and a half hours long. that's long! but good... almost like 5 episodes of the show. :)

i got new running shoes in the mail yesterday. yahoo! the bad part is i had to pay $25 duty tax on them... crap! but still, even with the duty they are less than $50 than what i would have paid in store. i got the mizuno wave inspire 4's.

aren't they pretty? they are just like my mizuno wave inspire 3's, but the blue is less teal-like, and more of a dim aqua. at first i was put off by this but then i realized i was put off by the colour of my old shoes when i first got them. i love my running shoes and i have grown to think they are pretty, but really, i think running shoes in general are ugly. they are so big and bulky and not fashion. if i could give anyone fashion tips i would say (to start) the following two things: 1) unless you are doing physical activities (for example, running, any sports, even walking to work...) there is no need to wear your big, bulky, running shoes. i know they are comfortable but still, come on. what would stacey and clinton say? i know what they would say... she would be appalled and he would be horrified. and please don't wear them with jeans... oh, the horror! (it's like every dad's style... along with the jean tuxedo) and 2) no khaki pants. if i went on a date with a man who was wearing khaki pants, it would be a deal breaker. harsh? maybe.

now that i have that out of my system... this morning i went on a 4-mile run around town. it wasn't hot out but it must have been humid because when i came back i was a sweaty betty. i then turn on the tap to take a shower and realize that there is NO HOT WATER... ahhhhhhhh! this is very rare since i live in a condo and there is always hot water. i could be running the dishwasher, the laundry machine, and taking a bath and there would still be hot water. not that i wash my clothes in hot... just saying. i stuck my head under the tub tap to wash my hair... brrrr.... talk about brain freeze. i wash my hair everyday anyway, so the thought of not washing it after it's soaked with sweat isn't that appealing to me. then i did a wash-cloth wipe down everywhere else. i hope the hot water comes back soon...! although it is supposed to be 30°C tomorrow and all this weekend so maybe i need some cool refreshing showers.

yesterday i bought peanut butter and co. natural peanut butter. i've never bought natural peanut butter before. it's amazing. the only ingredients are peanuts, and salt. it's all oily at the top so it has to be stirred. for the past year or two i was using PB2 because it is only 50 calories for 2 T and regular peanut butter is 200 cals for 2 T... big difference. but i think now that i am at a pretty stable weight i can "live it up" with regular peanut butter. also i'm trying to incorporate more healthy fats into my diet. filling fats... so that i can eat less but feel more satisfied overall. and isn't the jar so cute? those kraft bears have nothing on this jar!


enough blabbing! today's menu is:

1/2 small banana with 1t natural pb

1/4 cup cheerios with 1/2 small banana and 1/4 cup unsweetened almond breeze

1/2 cup cherries

quaker weight control cinnamon oatmeal
with 1 T ground flax
1/2 pack regular oatmeal
1/4 cup wheatberries

1/2 cup plain 2% yogurt
1 t no sugar added raspberry jam
1/4 cup wheatberries

3/4 cup quinoa
1 serving red lentil curry with spinach and tomatoes
1/2 cup mashed sweet potato/cauliflower mix

and i'm bringing a rebar to the movies just in case. a rebar is " a blend of 20 different fruits and vegetables with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives - each bar is made with 2 cups organic fruit and 2 cups organic vegetables to make for the most nutritious pocket-sized snack available." and 160 calories, 6 g fibre, 2 g protein. i have never tried this before... but it sounds great!

friday sick day

i am home sick today. i went to sleep last night around 10:30 (very early for me) and when i woke up at 7 i could tell i was not feeling better. so i just snoozed until noon and am feeling much MUCH better. still a bit woozy, but less lethargic i guess. sleep really is a great medicine.

i have to feel better, because my bf is taking me somewhere mysterious tonight. all i know is that it's expensive, and that i can't have any clues because i'd guess it right away. i wonder what it could be!? i'm very intrigued anyway.

my new haircut looks great. AND here is another random story: in the aveda school salon i was sitting on the couch, waiting for my hairdresser/student and i see these two men looking at me and whispering. they obviously worked there, and i recognized one as being an educator (from the last time i was there), so i figured that he was just telling a student that i was the next client or something. then the educator asks me to sit down and says, "what is your schedule like on this day (i forget when) in the future?" it was at least two weeks away and i thought they wanted to reschedule my appointment for that time (not cool!). anyway, they wanted me (ME!!!) to be a aveda hair fashion model in a show and walk down a runway. hahaha! i couldn't, because it would be in a morning and i have a day job, but still... what a compliment! i might change my mind actually. i said no because the location was an hour away... it's just so bizarre. i would get a free cut and colour out of the deal too.

no menu today. i'm going to have a bath and walk to the library. two of my favourite things to do. :o)