bing bang bong

i started this post yesterday and never finished ... here is what i wrote on monday:

how is it october 5 already? life is really rushing by.

i had a nice weekend. friday a friend's husband's birthday party SURPRISE! saturday a short run followed by a trip to a l'oreal canada make up sale (i can't believe someone is trying to sell that ticket on craigslist ... my mom gave me mine) with my bff, saturday night another birthday party, sunday a blogger meet-up (organized by angela at oh she glows that you can read about here (more about this later). can you see me in any pictures? i was staying at my bf's and forgot my camera at home. and THEN band practice.

oh yeah i forgot to mention I JOINED A BAND!


obviously i am veronica lodge, hahaha. we don't have a name yet but we do rehearse in a proper studio and we have a gig scheduled for sometime in november. i do some singing, some keyboard playing and lots of tambourining. fun times!

in other news i am going on a business trip this week - i leave tomorrow night and come back thursday. where am i going? peterborough!


and now back to real time, tuesday:

yes, so tonight a business trip. i am accompanying one of my authors for some publicity. we are filming some tv news segments tomorrow morning and in the evening, she is speaking at a women's business meeting. i think it will be fun. i am bringing my laptop and episodes 1 to 4 of veronica mars (never seen it ... but want to!) that i recently got from zip.ca - so i won't be lonely at night. i'm just kidding, i won't be lonely!

this week's training plan is:

monday: run 30 minutes
tuesday: cross-train 30 minutes
wednesday: rest
thursday: run 40 minutes
friday: rest
saturday: run 4 miles
sunday: rest

i ran 30 minutes last night and my right knee is bothering me. this only started after the half-marathon. it's even stiff now after i've been sitting in my office chair all morning. i was supposed to swim this morning but i felt too lazy, so i'll either do it tonight before i leave or make my rest day today and swim/workout tomorrow in my hotel. i want to follow this recovery plan but i want my knee to feel better. i keep telling myself to take some advil before my runs but i never remember.

do any of you take painkillers before your run? does it help? for some reason i feel like that's cheating - i hate popping pills if i don't have to ... but, maybe i do!

what a life

well, it's friday morning and i have the day off from work (yay!). that's the good news. the bad news is that i went to the dentist this morning and CRIED. dammit! what a baby! i had a chipped tooth and the chip (that they fixed last time) fell out so they had to replace it. anyhoo, they froze half my mouth and then went to town, and then i could feel the drill on my tooth nerve (!!!) and so i jumped back (well, my head moved) and water from the spray hose went everywhere, and little tears started dripping down my face, and they had to use MORE freezing and now half my face is a frozen blob. the good news is that it's over.

i am at my bf's apartment. he lives in my old neighbourhood and really close to my dentist. he is still sleeping because he is a teacher and that's what they do in the summatime! we are leaving today to go to a friend's cottage all weekend - yeeha! these cottage parties are out of control - like a house party from american teen movies. right on a nice lake too and not crazy far away (less than two hours).

i have been eating well and exercising all week. i completed my weekly plan except i took a rest day on wednesday. i cleaned my apartment all night and did all my laundry. yesterday i ran/walked four miles on the treadmill in my gym. i just wasn't feeling the outside. it was tough but i made it through. i am finally back in my maintenance weight zone too. now, the hard part, to keep it that way for two weeks until we leave for paradise. can i do it? during the week - of course, but weekends are my downfall. and cottage weekends? i've already got cans of bud light lime waiting for me in my car hehe. i have tried it before and it's sooooooo good and refreshing! my LCBO was sold out of bottles so i had to purchase cans, which i have never tried but what the hey - it's like beer pop.

i am bringing my running gear to the cottage. my half-marathon training plan says i have to run five miles on saturday. i will have to bring my garmin (love it) to keep track of my distance. hopefully the satellites will co-operate! that's all for now - have a lovely weekend!

signed,
crybaby

making it snappy

i've got to make it snappy because i'm posting in real time today, before work! i got up at 5:30 am to go to the bathroom and couldn't get back to sleep ... where the time went? i do not know. it's so early! technically shirls, i am up before you because of the time difference. so there hehe. i could not imagine waking up at 5 am everyday. madness!

last night before my homedate i went swimming in the pool. it was alright. yesterday at canadian tire i bought a kickboard with a grimacing shark on it, so i switched up my routine a little and that did make it better. i also bought a pool noodle to lay on and a tennis ball to sit on. i think all that stuff did more initial harm than good because i had a bit of trouble walking last night. today i'm fine. and i have pool crap all over my apartment - wah wah wee wah.

today i'm going to the work gym at lunch. randi, i don't have coverage for anything until 3-months into my job - then i will know if i can see the sports physio man. i would assume so, but you never know. i am just going to do strength training on my abs, back, and legs. my arms are buff enough - thank you. and doing strength training on my arms was giving me a bit of soreness while swimming - my arms felt like socks. i mean rocks. typing error.

tonight is the weekend - ya ya ya! i am meeting an old friend after work for a drink, and then he is taking me to his brand new house in milton that he doesn't even live in yet. empty new houses are so creepy, i love it. better get a move on now! until tomorrow ...

squishy

the title of this post is how i'm feeling today... wow! i had a great long weekend but there were far too many indulgences. i pretty much did (and ate... and drank) whatever i wanted and now all i want to do is detox, de-bloat, de-booze, re-hydrate, re-exercise and catch up on my zzz's. this morning my cat, oliver, woke me up with wet-nosed headbutts because he was out of food. obviously it's not rocket science, but i still think it's so cute how little animals associate their owners with the food, instead of going straight to the source.

my weekend away to niagara falls was really nice. we played glow in the dark mini-golf, went to the tropical bird museum giant aviary, walked by the falls, went on a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride by the falls, went out to eat, sat in the giant jacuzzi tub... definitely an amazing time. here is a picture of me with "duke," the horse who led our carriage around the falls.


he was a nice guy. on sunday, after checking out of the hotel, we drove across the border for my favourite united states activity, grocery shopping! first we stopped at dunkin donuts because i wanted to try the coffee there. it was pretty good - sort of like a tim horton's, but better and with more non-coffee/donut options.

i really went to town in the grocery store and came home with TONS of stuff: luna sunrise and clif kid z bars, cheddar turkey sausages, turkey breakfast sausages, turkey burgers (do you sense a theme?), light hamburger buns, light english muffins, flat out wraps, pureed sweet potato in a can, different kinds of oatmeal, fiber one bars (in new flavours), yoplait yogurts, fat free greek yogurts (fage and oikos), 40-spice hummus, 100-calorie quaker granola bars, swiss miss 25-calorie hot chocolate packets.... heaven.

the best part is that my boyfriend had an amazing time too. i love a man that loves to grocery shop. i bought him some fiber one pop tarts, ha! he also got a packet of slim jims (no comment!). we also went to target, naturally.

we were home on sunday night, and then yesterday (monday) was the family day holiday. hoorah! i took care of some personal business at home (that sounds shady but it's not) and got ready for the week. i wanted to watch the biggest loser from LAST WEEK that i taped, but i didn't have time. and now it's on again tonight. having four hours of taped biggest loser to watch is kind of obscene. i can do it... i won't let you down, biggest loser!

i have some goals for this week - i'd like to try to avoid junk and de-bloat. cut down on the salt, up the water intake, get in some activity every day. tonight after work i will probably go for a swim, or walk/slow-jog on the treadmill. i can't wait to catch up on all the posts i missed this weekend!

500 posts and counting!

this is my 500th post! can you believe it? seems like just yesterday i was writing my first post... actually, what a lie. it doesn't.

first up for this fantastic friday, a shout out to cat and her awesome post on concealer. last night i went straight to shopper's drug mart after work and bought the smashbox photo finish primer. i like it A LOT. thanks cat!

second, bi0nic was asking what kind of bum exercises i do on the mat, so without further ado, here they are:

les exercices du clochard

1) on the mat, get into an "all fours" position like this girl below:



don't pay attention to her movements or her band, just the body position.

2) i do each "exercise" 10 times, and do all the exercises on one leg (to feel the burn) and then switch it up and do the other leg. the worst feeling is putting the first leg down after doing the exercises. here are the exercises:

a) from the "all fours" position, straighten one leg out behind you. flex the foot and with the leg straight at all times, bring it down to the ground so your toe almost hits the ground but not quite. repeat ten times.

b) now, bend your straight leg and bring your knee into the chest without any part of this moving leg touching the ground. from this bent position (like the picture above), straighten your leg up as far back as it will go. repeat ten times.

c) now keep your leg straight out behind you and flex your foot again. this exercise is sort of like the first except when you bring your leg down (keeping it straight), you are going to cross your leg over the other one. so, if you are doing exercises with your right leg, it's going to cross over to your left. remember to keep your foot flexed here. repeat ten times.

d) finally, keep your leg up in the air behind you but bend the knee and keep it bent. for this exercise, you are going to pump your foot up to the ceiling, almost straightening your leg with each pump but not quite. i do twenty repeats of this one. the first ten are not too tough and the last five are brutal.

then, sink back into a child's yoga pose for a stretch
and repeat on the other side.

in other news, i forgot to talk about this amazing product i found at the whole foods market. maple flakes! they are only 10 calories for 2 teaspoons and are absolutely delicious. i have started sprinkling them on my oatmeal for a little added sweetness. amazing!

this morning for breakfast i tried a carrot cake clif bar. i had to use it as a meal replacement bar instead of a snack, because it was 5 ww points and my breakfast is usually around that. it was filling, but not good. too artificially sweet. i only read after that it's a nutritional supplement bar with 10g of protein. i love protein but not when it comes out of nowhere! it had a long list of ingredients too. i bought it because i LOVE the clif kid z bars i bought in the states. sorry carrot cake clif, i don't think i will buy you again.

this weekend should be pretty good. tonight i plan on relaxing and watching this week's episode of project runway canada that i taped. tomorrow, i might be shopping for a new winter coat (a warm one, not a fashion one... any recommendations?) and hopefully going dancing. it's supposed to rain on saturday but be unseasonably warm outside. what are you doing?

monday mania

good morning. there are still two minutes until noon so it's still morning! welcome to monday... bleh!

i had a great weekend. on friday i watched across the universe which was pretty good. how can anything made entirely of beatles songs be bad? the first half was better than the second half.

on saturday i had a 40 minute swim, and also walked to the library and back. i had some resume and cover letter books on hold to pick up, and i got two new amazing audio books for the car. i also got a book by madeleine wickham called the gatecrasher. did you know that is sophie kinsella, author of the shopaholic series? pretty *wild* ;)

on sunday, i went with my family to see jersey boys, which is a musical about the four seasons. amazing!

this morning i did some reading, and then went for a 40 minute swim. i am going to try and get some walking in later.

and finally, here is a photo from halloween (i am slow to upload things!) - my boyfriend and i were 70s olympians. i made the medals and the shirts... crafty!

i broke my bowl

remember my new oatmeal bowl from ikea? well, i broke it this morning. i was excited because i was going to try microwaving oats instead of cooking them stovetop. i thought that maybe the bowl would be big enough to avoid the boiling over that usually happens in the microwave. but now i'll never know. it just jumped out of my hands. and it broke on the countertop... not even the floor. it must have been crappily made, because things normally don't break on the countertop.

everything is breaking for me lately. my phone is broken... it's been sent out for repairs and i have a weird replacement phone. last night my cat knocked over a glass on my bedside table and it shattered (on the laminate wood floor... also weird) and today the bowl. everything is destructing!!!! ahhhhh!!!!

anyway, my weekend was pretty good. i pigged out at the girl's sleepover on friday night, but did 20 minutes on the elliptical on saturday AND went swimming so i'm hoping i canceled out some of the bad. the rest of the weekend was kind of lame. except last night i had dinner with my parents and my mom made the best fresh pasta - spinach and cheese stuffed ravioli with roasted red peppers and mushrooms, and meatballs. and then we made brownies after dinner. wa wa wee wa.

today i am at home organizing my life. i applied for some jobs, and i have to organize some paperwork for a meeting i have at the unemployment office tomorrow. fun times... oh boy!

this morning i went swimming... it felt really good. i might walk to the library later and get another book on CD if i have time. i just love listening to them in the car. it's very relaxing!

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!

monday morning

my weekend was good. on friday night my bf and i stayed in and watched the sex and the city movie. i had seen it (come on) but he hadn't and wanted to. we ordered swiss chalet for dinner and it was delicious. :)

on saturday we did some shopping and for dinner i made this bruschetta chicken bake that i saw in the kraft magazine. while online it got good reviews, i wouldn't make it again. i think i mixed the can of tomatoes with the stove top stuffing too soon... anyway it was kind of mushy. and the chicken, being the bottom layer, was kind of flavourless except for the basil. and i wasn't completely convinced that the chicken had baked for long enough (only 30 minutes!)... so kind of bleh.

at night we went to a concert (brazilian girls) and then to a party. the next morning i woke up feeling like DEATH. seriously, it felt like someone slipped a roofie into my drink. i had sort of a lot to drink but really not enough to feel so crappy. i'm sure nothing funny like that happened but still. didn't feel good.

today is monday and i'm at home today. i'm going to go swimming for 30 minutes in a few, and then maybe try week three day one of the couch to 5k tonight since my bum pain isn't bothering me today. also a protein smoothie for dinner!

new week

my weekend wasn't too bad. i ate reasonably well and went swimming on saturday. i was going to ride my bike as well, but couldn't find it. it was in the underground parking bike lot - at least i thought it was. i searched everywhere like a dumbo but nope, no bicycle.

last week in my condo the "management" declared that if you wanted to store your bike in the underground bike lot, you had to register it. that means finding the reg. number at the bottom of your bike, paying $5 and putting a numbered tag on your bike. i did all this even though it really was kind of a nuisance. so on saturday i went down to get my bike to ride it to the ferry boats (going to the island for v-fest) and it wasn't there. after some investigation, i find out that the "management" has cut my lock and transferred my bike to some sort of weird storage locker, claiming that there was no tag on the bike. but there was a tag - i put it on myself. now, two things could have happened. it's possible that 1) maybe the tag fell off somewhere or 2) maybe some horrible monster stole my tag. it's probably number one but you never know. i am mostly peeved that they ruined my perfectly good bicycle lock and i had to buy a new one. and i couldn't ride it on saturday because i couldn't lock it up anywhere. i've asked them to pay for my lock but they have refused. grrrrr. can you believe it? it's not the actual money but the principle and hassle of it all.

in other news, today i rejoined weight watchers online. true i don't really *need* to because i can count points values on my own, but i really love how easy it makes everything. just searching for the foods and exercises in the database, all the counting is down for you, no math involved. and you can look back on the week to see your successes and failures. i just need a bit of extra motivation right now and i think using this online tool will provide that because of the fun factor. it's fun to put in what you eat. and the recipe builder is a great tool as well. plus it's nice to get a firm grasp on points values again. for example, i was counting 1 T ground flax as 0 points, because it's 35 calories and 3g fiber. but on the website, it's 0.5 points. i don't know why, but good to know.

tgif

i stayed up so late last night finishing my book. and i couldn't even really sleep in this morning because.... (drum roll)... i am finally going to the chiropractor at 10:30am! wooooohooooo. hopefully this is the magic i'm looking for. not being able to do "hardcore" exercises like running and HIIT is depressing. i never though i could run and when i finally start (and it's all i want to do) i can't!

so this morning is my inital interview. i am a little scared but looking forward to it!

i had a pretty good week. now the big test is the weekend! as long as i can make it through today and saturday it's fine. sundays are no problem for me because i only eat twice and can make good choices. tonight i think some dancing is in store, and then tomorrow to the virgin concert on the island. if we can get tickets.

i told my boyfriend i'd buy him a bicycle for his birthday. i saw a really retro fab one the other day and we are going back this afternoon to check if it's still there. it's a little late now (at the end of summer) but better now than never!

also i finally broke down and bought allergy medication. the good kind too - i hope it kicks in soon. and finally, i've tried real greek yogurt (although not the kinds featured on most food blogs) it was $1.99 for a tiny container and not healthy... about 200 calories and 14g fat. and attached to it was blue syrupy goo. it was very thick and had the consistency of cream cheese. that's what it tastes like to me. very rich tasting. yummy of course, but not worth the points. i'll stick to regular yogurt in the future.

so early

sorry for the lack of post yesterday. i went with my boyfriend to one of his schools to set up a classroom and it was a disaster. it was an empty room used for storage a.k.a. a dumping ground but we were there for hours and now it looks like a million dollars. i had a good swim around 10pm. it was weird to exercise so late but nice. the pool was empty which always makes me happy. although the water was soooo hot. it was like a bath. good for old people... not good for people swimming laps.

this morning i am up so early (i can't believe my eyes are open). i am going to the burbs to help my mom at work. she works for a real estate lawyer and the other clerk is on vacation and my sister usually works there too but is an actress with an audition. it is the end of the month and everyone is buying and selling today so i will write cheques and take them to be certified... stuff like that.

friday is weigh-in and i am 120.8 pounds. i secretly weighed in last week and was 120.6 pounds. so no real change from last week but above my maintenance range which is not cool. i am going to start the points counting again in september. yes, i could start now, but it's the weekend and august and it's not out of control yet or anything. besides, september to me always feels like a rebirth. a start to the new year. more so than january which is funny. it's back to school! :)

this weekend should be fun. tonight (after a giant nap of coursezzzzzzz) some friends of mine are having a party (i think in a pub) and then tomorrow my boyfriend is having a small housewarming party for his close friends. i feel like something is happening on monday too but i can't remember. happy weekend!

mondayayayayaya

this will have to be a shorty post, because i am heading off to another job interview - this one i am on the "shortlist" for. cross your fingers for me.

the weekend was pretty good. fake prom was fun, although we didn't get enough sleep and saturday (at the wedding) dragged and dragged. and we were with my parents (and rest of family) so i didn't want to drink that much.

my hair looks amazing! i will post a photo tomorrow. not today because i want a few more people (who maybe read the blog... who knows?) to see it before i reveal it to the world. it is taking some getting used to for sure but already the time i'm saving (styling and vacuuming the bathroom) is outrageous.

that's all party people. yesterday i did the fat-burning 50 minute pilates video, and today i think i will go for a swim in the afternoon. i am meeting some girlfriends for dinner and want to get in some activity so i can eat more. :)

i'm doing it

TODAY. i'm cutting off all my hair. this morning actually, which is why i'm up early. i was so excited/nervous i could hardly sleep. i got up in the middle of the night and had to take some "herbal insomnia" pills. i think they are psychological. anyway, very exciting. my boyfriend tried to convince me to slow it down yesterday... give it some more thought, ask a few people, etc. but i don't want to do that. if i do, there is a possibility that i'll chicken out and continue life with a boring do.

today is friday, weigh-in day, and today i am... 119.2 which is a 2.4 loss and puts me back in the maintenance range. hooray! that wasn't too hard at all.

and i have a fun weekend planned. tonight is the fake prom which is always more fun than your lame high school prom. it's "robot" themed but my boyfriend and i are going "nautical." don't ask me why... i think it's because his parent's just got him a captain's hat while they were on a cruise and he wants an opportunity to wear it. fine by me... fun :)

and then tomorrow we are going to my parent's house, hopping in the family car (oh boy) and driving to hamilton for one of my cousin's weddings. i love weddings. yesterday at the mall i bought a new strapless dress from le chateau. it's really cute but after re-trying it on at home i confirmed it's the wrong size. it's a S and i need an XS. it pretty much fits everywhere, until i relax and it almost falls off of my small chest. there are a few other le chateaus near my house so i might ride around this afternoon (on my bike) looking for the right size. i could call, but there are a million dresses in that store and it's usually teenagers working there, how are they going to know which dress i am even talking about? i hope i can find one, anyway, otherwise i'll just have to return it.

boring weekend

wow, what a boring weekend! except for the olympics of course. did anyone else see Michael Phelps win his first gold? i am not american but i found myself cheering for him anyway. what a great story... raised by a single mom... now the best swimmer in the world, etc. i love swimming and used to teach which is probably why i'm so into it. i also like to watch gymnastics.

it was raining for most of the weekend. and really nothing was going on. just hanging out. saturday i watched tv (sports) all day, and fell asleep TWICE on the couch. how boring! i don't like doing that at all. there were plans to go to this greek festival here in toronto, called taste of the danforth, but it was pouring rain ALL day. i am not into standing outside eating souvlaki on a stick in the rain, that's for sure.

i did get in some ab work and a swim on saturday. i tried to swim on friday, but as soon as i dunked my head in the pool, the condo maintenance people said i had to get out so they could clean the pool. so i showered and stuff and didn't want to re-wet later and then have to go through all the hair-doing motions again.

my sciatic pain is feeling A LOT better, although i am still limping a little bit and am not going to try any strenuous activity until i'm positive nothing will happen. does anyone have any good low-impact exercises i can try. i have been swimming, and doing one or two (lame) exercise videos at home. i can't really do pilates or anything that involves rolling or too much floor work at the moment. any suggestions? i'd say walking is a bit too high-impact at this point as well.

today in my inbox i got an email from women's health that detailed some workouts female olympic athlete's are doing. here it is... very cool.

too funky

george michael was amazing. just amazing. he is still outstanding and it was a fantastic concert. it rivaled depeche mode for the best concert ever but now that i think of it was only slightly not as good. he played two sets, then three encores. i didn't get home until 12:30! he was very enamored with the toronto audience because we know how to cheer. whoohooooo george! i will be your father figure, put your tiny hand in mine...

so i didn't work out this morning because i was up late. but i did work out yesterday before the show. i am still avoiding pounding pavement because of my shin and it's beginning to feel like normal. i did 20 minutes biking, arm weights, 10 minutes elliptical, arm weights, 10 more elliptical, situps, and then i rode my bike to the library to return some books.

i only have to work a half-day, so maybe i'll do something active later or maybe i'll take a rest day and have an awesome run tomorrow.

today is friday, and weigh-in, and i weighed 119 which is a 0.8 loss since last week and within my range. hallelujah! i was a bit worried this week because i wasn't tracking too much and i wasn't running (although was doing other activities... but nothing is the same as running in my opinion).

this weekend is looking relaxing. tonight maybe the movies, tomorrow going dancing, and sunday looking at an apartment for my boyfriend. it is so hot today. i rode my bike to work and am really sticky. i love summer :o) have a nice weekend.

ps. i didn't take that picture of the concert. that wasn't even last night... i was way at the back haha.

i see the light

this week i am very busy. not so much at work but in my home life. i am throwing myself a birthday party on saturday and am really anal about a) having a spotless, immaculate apartment (who am i, my mother?) b) providing drinks and a delicious spread c) looking hot and fabulous and d) being able to accomplish everything without feeling stressed at all. the pressure is on people!

i made myself a to-do list at the beginning of the week and am crossing things off as i go along. the list includes EVERYTHING i have to do... from cleaning the bathroom, to buying plastic cups at the dollar store, to finding a new party dress, to shaving my legs, to windexing the giant window/doors to my balcony, to cutting up veggies for a veggie platter, to losing my above-maintenance extra weight. there are about fifty other things on the list. not kidding.

last night was my sewing class and it was fun. we talked about using patterns and then cut them out and pinned them to the fabric and cut out the fabric. when i got home (at 9:30!) i cleaned my entire bathroom and did an inventory of the party supplies i already have. it doesn't help that on friday i am going to a different birthday party. getting my friend a present is on my list of to-do things!

anyway that's boring. my boyfriend told me last night that he booked our tickets yesterday. we are flying out on the last sunday in july and coming back the next sunday. i am really excited. and i really need a vacation!

this morning i did a 4-mile run around town, then came back to the condo gym for some arm weights and sit-ups. i am still following my plan of breakfast being the biggest meal of the day, then lunch, then dinner. it's working out well for me... since i am so busy in the evenings this week i don't have time to think about making anything exciting for dinner. the protein powder is still working in my favour... this morning i made one with 1/2 banana, unsweetened almond breeze, and frozen mangos and peaches. tropical yum!

now to get on with thursday! (i am actually happy it's thursday not friday, because i need tonight to do more party prep.)

hard to the core to the hard hard core

good morning monday. my weekend was pretty good. friday night was my boyfriend's show. i got my unflattering portrait done - would you like to see it? of course you would!
i really like it! it looks a lot like me... just unflattering haha.

it ended late and with chinese food - but i didn't feel bad about it since i had done 5 miles that morning and usually on fridays i take it easy. on saturday i ran 4 miles outside... which was nice because it was a really beautiful day. my boyfriend and i had our dance class (tango, rumba, salsa, swing), went grocery shopping, and went to a friend's birthday bbq. fun! yesterday i went to a wedding shower and pigged out on scoops - those tortilla chips. the bowl was right in front of me during present opening... which took a long time... resulting in many many scoops.

and now it is monday. i set my alarm for 6:45am, hit the snooze, thought about not exercising, then exercising after work, then thinking there is NO WAY i am going to want to do anything after work on a monday, so i went downstairs and hit the gym. i ran a surprisingly easy 5 miles, all at a 2% incline, switching the speed up from 5.5 mph every 2 minutes, up until 6.3, then i ran 2 minutes at 7 mph and the cycle started again. my knees didn't hurt at all (which is amazing for running for 50 minutes) and my bum pain is pretty much gone. i am healed! phewf... i was worried for a bit. and now that my workout is over for today i feel grrrreeeeaaaat.

i am reading this book called "souvenir" by therese fowler... here it is... it's pretty good - i find myself thinking about it all of the time.

today on the menu is:

high fibre berry oatmeal
1/2 cup all bran
1 T flax
coffee with skim milk

1 cup plain 2% yogurt
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 cup strawberries
14 baby carrots (yes, 14!)
2 slices sprouted grains toast

shrimp pita sandwich =
high fibre pita
shrimps
spinach
mustard
tomatos
side of green, yellow beans and carrots

the cold, hard truth

first things first: friday weigh-in... 120.0 pounds, gain of 1.2. that isn't a big gain, but it puts me at the top of my desired maintenance range. so this weekend i will have to watch it, sort of. what does that mean? i don't know... smaller portions maybe? or stopping when satisfied, not full.

secondly, i FINALLY got my polar F4 heart rate monitor in the mail and i have to say it's awesome. although the cold, hard truth has shown its hideous face to me. i can't decide if i like this hideous face or not.

this is what it looks like (i got this pretty cherry colour):


here is what i've learned so far:

1) last night i wore the monitor for 1/2 an hour, just to set it up and test it out. in 30 minutes of pretty much doing nothing, i burned 25 calories. i did the math and that's 1200 calories burned a day when i'm doing nothing. sleeping is probably less. obviously "living" is more, but not sitting at my desk at work.

2) my regular heart rate is between 56-58 beats per minute. i checked online what was normal, and the average resting heart rate for a woman, aged 26-35 is 73 to 76 beats per minute. at first i was worried, until i found this chart, which tells that i am not going to die, but instead, am better than excellent, have the heart rate of an ATHLETE, otherwise known as being HARDCORE.

3) i went downstairs to the gymbo this morning and tried it out. sometimes when i go to the gym, as opposed to running outside, i like to do an incline walk on the treadmill. i usually walk at 4 mph, at an incline of 4.5% or so, for 60-75 minutes. when i put in my weight, the treadmill tells me i burned between 600-615 calories for this time period. the treadmill is a LIAR!
walking at 4 mph at 4.5% didn't even put me into my target heart rate zone (126-165 beats per minute). i upped the incline to 5.5% and the speed to 4.2 mph and still my heart rate wasn't in my target zone. 4.2 mph is a really, really, REALLY speedy walk people. in about 40 minutes i burned 200 calories, maybe 5-10 more. that's the cold, hard truth.

4) moving on. after the treadmill i did a bit of free-weights, then tried out the elliptical. normally i don't use the elliptical, because the ones at my gym really poop me out. but i went on, and my heart rate rose, up to 155-160 which is pretty amazing. and of course when your heart rate is higher, you burn more calories. so i stayed on for about 11 minutes, which took me up to 300 calories burned. for the record - i'm sure i always won't pay so much attention to the amount of calories i'm burning... right now i am a supernerd with a new toy.

5) continuing... i did a few more free weights and then got on the stationary bike. i kept my heart rate around 130 bpm, and i really had to focus to keep it there. i went up to 400 calories burned on the bike. then i did some sit-ups and stretches which brought me up to 425 calories burned.

6) i was at the gym for 1 hour and 20 minutes, and none of this time was slacking off at all. here is what i learned: a) i really have to push myself in a major way to get into my target zone. b) gym machines over-estimate calories burned big time and c) ok i only learned two things. but aren't they interesting? i am excited to see what my heart rate stats are during an outdoor run.

in non HRM news, it's friday! HOORAY! things are still weird at my office (with the roof caving in), so i might go home after or at lunch. tomorrow i am going for a run, and then my boyfriend and i have a dance lesson at the new dance studio near my pad. so far we have learned swing, rumba, tango, waltz, and foxtrot. by learned i mean we can do the basic steps and forget most of it every time we walk out the door. actually we practice swing the most and have learned some pretty rad moves that we put into action last saturday night. on saturday night we are inviting some friends over, then going back to the dance studio for the grand opening party. there will be champagne and some food, and the 3-time canadian dance champions are performing. ooh la la. and then after it will be early still so we'll go out somewhere else. time to par-tay!

today the menu is:
1/2 fibre source bar

instant regular oatmeal
2 fat free yogurts with frozen berries

and then i don't know... i didn't bring a lunch which is unlike me. happy weekend!

tips for the weekend

i bet you are all wondering what i did last night, ha! did i meet bob harper? did i go home and vacuum? my sister called me and said she was coming downtown to see a musical called "a very gay little musical." truthfully i wasn't that into it because it got a bad review in the paper and occasionally, when i'm feeling sensitive, it bothers me when people play up on stereotypes for comedy. but i didn't want her to have to go alone, so i said i'd go. luckily (for me) one of my parent's neighbours agreed to go with her.

so then i thought, do i want to meet bob harper? and as it turns out, i do not. sorry, bob. i decided to ride my bike (from work) to my old neighbourhood, the annex. i lived there (in a few different places) for almost four years, ever since i moved back to toronto after university. i really like my condo and my new location, and up until last night i was surprised that i didn't really miss my old hood. well, as it turns out, going there was a real catalyst for missing it! now i miss it soooooo much. i went to a health food store to find nutritional yeast (could not find it), a few book stores, and my favourite coffee shop, future bakery. oh, so sad. it was weird... i felt like i recognized everyone... every face looked familiar. maybe it's for the best that i did move! my new book club book is lullabies for little criminals and so far it's AMAZING. go get it right now! (it takes place in montreal too.)

so i read for awhile and then rode home, made a tuna/mustard combo and kale chips, and watched grey's anatomy. it was actually pretty good, but i think that can be attributed to the sausage links falling out of some guys stomach more than the actual plot. then i cleaned, did laundry, and vacuumed. now my apartment looks great for the weekend. (i hate starting the weekend with a messy apartment.)

today, friday is weigh-in and i am down 1.4 pounds to 118.6. sounds good to me. this morning i went for a four mile run around the city. it's supposed to rain today so a) i'm glad it's out of the way and b) i had to take the streetcar to work this morning instead of biking. booooooo! but at least i got to read that fab new book!

this week in my email i got a "weekend survival guide" or tips for staying on track during the weekend. i'll post them since so many of us seem to act like wild monkey-children on the weekends. can you follow these tips?

1) plan family activities like bike rides or outdoor games. this helps you spend time with your family and burn calories all at once! no excuse not to now that the weather is warm. finally!

2) carry a water bottle with you to your weekend activities. this will help you get your water for the day and resist the temptation to reach for a soda or other caffeinated beverage. i guess this is a good tip... if you are drinking water you can't be eating...

3) set some "weekend specific" goals for yourself based on the realities of what you’ll be doing. they may look very different than your weekday goals, and that’s okay. agreed... go easy on yourself. you can't be hardcore ALL the time.

4) if you are going to be out all day, pack some healthy snacks in case you get hungry. there is nothing worse than being hungry at the mall, and the only food options are ice cream or pizza. very good idea. i hate being out somewhere and starving. cinnabon anyone?

5) set Monday as your weigh-in day. you are more likely to resist temptation if you have to face the scale first thing Monday morning. nah, that's just depressing. i'll stick to friday thanks.

6) plan ahead!! if you are going out to eat, find the restaurant's menu (and any available nutritional information) online. you’ll have plenty of time to make a healthy choice before you get there. i always try and do this, not just on the weekend, although occasionally it's nice to be at a restaurant and choose off the menu for tastiness, not just healthiness.

7) don't save all of your splurging for the weekends. allowing yourself a few treats throughout the week will help you avoid the mindset that the weekend is an excuse to go bonkers. and by spacing your treats evenly, you're less likely to get sudden, irresistible cravings. bonkers? say what?

today on the menu:

1/4 all bran bar (pre run)
1/4 all bran bar (post run)
handful of vanilla shreddies shoved in my mouth (also post run)

coffee
water
source yogurt and unsweetened almond joy
strawberries
3/4 cup organic puffed kamut cereal

regular quaker instant oatmeal
with 1T ground flax and
1/3 cup crushed vanilla shreddies mixed in

tea or something from starbucks since i'm going there at lunch to read

2 slices sprouted grains bread
tuna/mustard/sun-dried tomatoes mix
sugar snap peas and baby tomatoes

3/4 cup grapes
source yogurt

dinner: another mystery. :)