motivation

the first day of my new job is over. it went well and i had a good time. everyone seems nice and the office is new and nice with excellent facilities, including a big gym, which is perfect for me. my condo gym has good cardio equipment and dumbbells but a terrible weight machine system. you know the kind that has every device in one... a lot of people keep them in their garages. bleh. so now i will be able to shape my muscles and get RIPPED. but not this week. everything is still new.

yesterday i went grocery shopping and bought so many fresh fruits and veggies, including an avocado. these fruits are so wonderful for keeping me full - a little goes a long way. i can eat lunch including 1/4 avocado and not be hungry again until 4pm. amazing.

tonight is date night and i still have some time before my boyfriend comes over. the responsible side of me says, "go for a swim" and the other lazy side says, "catch up on your blog reading!" what should i do? maybe a bit of both? neither? scrub the toilet instead?

mallrat

this morning for breakfast i tried another luna sunrise bar, this time in vanilla almond. it was good, but not as good as the strawberry. i don't like eating bars all the time like this either, but they are great for eating on the road.

last night i went for a three-mile treadmill walk. it was alright but only because i had some good magazines to read. my bum pain has been acting up a little lately. WHY ME? WHHHHYYYYYYYYY? i guess i just have to accept it. it's no where near as bad as it was so i'm just going to suck it up.

this morning i went for a 40-minute swim. i really debated waiting until tonight but tonight i just want to relax and clean up a little, take care of some business, watch the biggest loser and get to bed early. for the last two weeks in a row i have taped the biggest loser, intending to watch it later and then i never do. instead of catching up on four hours of tv i'm just going to count my losses and start on from this week. i just don't like watching tv that much. well, sometimes i do (more on that tomorrow). if i am not excited about a show then it can be really painful. tv should be enjoyable, not something you feel you have to get through. that's lame.

so last night after work i hit up the mall. oh, the mall. the one great thing about working in the burbs is all of the great suburban mall action. so spacious, so many stores... no one pushing you and crowding you... hardly any lining up for change rooms.

i bought some new boots on aldoshoes.com but they were the wrong size. i am between sizes (8.5) and they didn't have any 9's online so i ordered the 8. too small! i brought them to the dufferin mall downtown and they didn't have any 9's either, but they put a pair on hold for me at sherway gardens. by the way, cinemarie, i did check out the GNR while i was there and saw the luna sunrise bars - thanks! i picked up the right size and they are awesome! check them out... so rock n roll.


after boot exchanging, i wanted to find a simple t-shirt for business purposes. a nice bright colour to go under a blazer. i knew i could find a shirt like this at smart set or H & M but those stores weren't in the mall! bah! i went to the GAP hoping they had plain t-shirts - they did, but they were all v-necked and i only want a round neck. come on, people! i will have to go back out tonight. i did get a scarf at the GAP. it's thin and more for fashion than warmth.

i also went to the pet store to look at the puppies. i don't know how i feel about pet store pets. my cat oliver is from the humane society, but when i was growing up my family bought a bichon frise puppy from a pet store in the mall. these puppies need homes too, and there were so many cutiepies. if i were to ever get a dog, i would buy one from a breeder or the humane society, but that doesn't mean i can't appreciate the supreme cuteness of puppies in the pet store. like this chow puppy! (blackberry photo hehe)

yippity skippity!

hooray, it's friday! doesn't that make you happy? there is nothing quite like the good mood of a friday. happy happy joy joy. i'm so enthusiastic i'm beginning to sound sarcastic! but i'm not.

first things first, today is friday.... dreaded weigh in day. i am 0.4 higher than last week but that's ok for several reasons: 1) last weekend was halloween... candy... etc. enough said. 2) i was an exercise queen this week and i'm sure the scale will reflect that next week. and 3) i'm just going with the flow. it's not that bad. i am still less than two pounds over my maintenance range, which really is nothing but annoying that i haven't been able to get everything in check and then keep it there.

last night after i got home, i walked for four miles on the treadmill, and THEN swam for 40 minutes as well. i wasn't going to walk for so long, but i was absorbed in my book. swimming was hard after my grueling walk (ha) and it kind of felt like i was swimming uphill, but i stuck with it.

i decided to give my body a break and take this morning, and probably today, off from exercise. i will be back in the pool tomorrow, and i'm not going to take sunday off either. maybe a good schedule for me is four days on, one day off.

i'm wearing a new sweater today. it's from smart set - here is a picture:

have a great weekend everyone :)

more motivated

you know what bothers me about september? socks or no socks?! some days it's warm enough to wear sandals and no socks. but then other days it's too chilly and really it all depends on things like wind and sun or no sun, etc. i think today i will wear socks.

reading so many of your motivational posts for the BLBE challenge is making me more motivated too. especially since yesterday, when i went to put on my "business skirt" for my interview, it didn't fit. well it "fit," but was tight. too tight for me to wear and sit on the streetcar without it riding up and be generally annoying. so - time for some serious action.

i'm eating within my points and that's good, and i'm eating all of my activity points so i'm definitely eating enough. i think my problem is not spreading out the points over the whole day. the thought of not having enough points in the evening and being hungry isn't a good one to me, and i think i am saving too many for the evening. if i am hungry at bedtime, i will just suck it up. hunger is not an emergency! and really, a little bit of hunger never hurt anyone. i like the feeling of hunger over the feeling of being too full.

the interview yesterday was alright. maybe i was tired, but i wasn't really into it. they kept asking me questions about what i would do in certain situations, and i wanted to say, i don't know, i'll deal with it when it comes, stop harassing me, leave me alone! instead of making up lame stuff in my head. and i'm also sick about having to put on an excited face about crappy stuff. like a "high-stress" environment. who thrives in a high-stress environment? and actually likes it? i like a nice, calm environment. i hardly even get stressed. stress! i mean, really! anyway i think the subject matter might be too boring for me. they didn't tell me how much the job pays, so i don't really know if it would be a perk.

this morning i got up early and went swimming in the apartment pool. in a few moments (after coffee), i am heading to the burbs to help out my mom at work. i might do day 3 of week 2 of the couch to 5k after work if my bottom half is pain free.

also this morning i had a giant breakfast.

1 packet of quaker regular oatmeal (2) with 1/2 cup all bran (1) and 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese (1.5), and on the side 140g of frozen unsweetened raspberries (0). i am so full, for only 4.5 points.

lunch is fat free turkey (1) on a weight watchers bagel (2) with lettuce and tomato and mustard (0), 1/2 cup of 0% vanilla yogurt (1) mixed with 1/2 cup pure pumpkin (0), 200g of baby carrots (1), for a total of 5 points.

snacks are an apple (1) and a chocolate chip all-bran bar (2), for a total of 3 points.

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.

where the sky meets the sea

 

i haven't really sorted through the photos yet, but here is a nice one. it's somewhere on the road between san francisco and santa cruz. it doesn't look like a real photo because the ocean and beach shouldn't connect like that... i'm actually standing on the edge of a giant cliff (scary). it was so windy but beautiful. this is the just after we drove away from the san francisco fog and gloom. it was so weird how the division between fog and sun was so drastic and obvious. i got these purple pants in san francisco... love them!

yesterday i tried swimming but my leg was really hurting so i had to stop. my mom wants me to visit a chiropractor and i am seriously considering it. my boyfriend and i cleaned his apartment pretty much all afternoon - until about 7. i did the whole bathroom and under the stove elements. we might go back today... i'd rather just get it over with. he is so excited about it and so am i because it's in my old neighbourhood which i miss a lot. it's a bustling area... people are always out doing things on the street.

so i have the choice to see two movies. 1) mama mia and 2) the dark knight. what should i choose?

even with no exercise, my weight is going back down. thank you fibre :) i hate not being able to do hard core exercise. maybe this injury is my body's way of saying it was too much. when i feel better again i will definitely ease into something. being hardcore was fun while it lasted.

i also wanted to mention that the egg on oatmeal was totally delicious. people eat eggs on toast - toast is a grain like oatmeal... what's the difference? it wasn't flavoured or instant oatmeal people - i am not crazy! ;o)

a midweek list for "y'all"

breakin' it up list style:

1) i do not say "y'all" in my regular day-to-day life.

2) yesterday i was really gung-ho about making kale chips for dinner. if you don't know what kale chips are, google away. after work i rode my bike home then walked to the grocery store (it is very close... less than 5 mins). low and behold, they are out of kale. they had a sign for kale, but no kale. i've never had kale (or kale chips obviously) before so i thought, maybe i can sub in another type of greeny leafy veg and bake that. i decided that chicory looked like kale, so i bought that. let me tell you people, you can NOT make chicory chips. c'est impossible! waste of time...

3) instead i made sweet potato fries... and burned them a little. but i still ate them because i wasn't about to have two failed side-dish attempts. no sir!

4) biggest loser finale: i am happy with the winner, but thought that the show was really drawn out and boring. BORING! and i realized that i don't really care who wins about 5 minutes into the show. so long as it wasn't crybaby mark. wah wah wah. just kidding. he just won too much during the season. i was especially happy with the $100,000 winner. so nice and cute. :)

5) this morning i walked for 30 minutes (2 miles) on the treadmill, then went swimming for 30 minutes. and rode my bike to work but i don't consider that real exercise, because a) i am hardcore and there is a lot of bicycle coasting b) it doesn't take that long.

6) tonight is date night - woohoo! (no poutine tonight, by the way.)

7) SALBA: today is my second day using it. the texture is not like flax (ground). it is tiny little seeds. yesterday i put in into oatmeal and i was not into it. it made the consistency of my oatmeal different. today i put it into yogurt and that was better. i am not magically a new, healthier person yet... how will i ever know!? HOW!?

8) both jennifer and bi0nic w0man tagged me for a game yesterday, so i gotta play. here are the rules of the game...

link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

i'll have to letter my list, as numbers are too confusing at this point in the game:

a) when i was young i refused to eat any green vegetables. i thought they were so gross. my favourite saying was, "it's not easy being green," by kermit the frog. now i love green food. the greener the better. of course now i am on a super-health kick, but still. funny how tastes change. i used to hate rice too... i mean who hates rice? no one.

b) i have a very romantic boyfriend. for such a rock n' roller cool guy, he really is the sweetest (and cute too). yesterday he surprised me at work by bringing me nice flowers. we went for a walk outside and a pen exploded in his pocket, haha - it was red, too. i can laugh because it didn't mess up his pants or anything, he just had a really red hand. and phone. :)

c) i am most likely going to europe at the end of august. exact places and details yet to be determined.

d) when i was a kid, i was obsessed with barbapapa. i still think it's super rad! my favourite was called barbapapa at work, which was a big fat book seen at the bottom of this page.

e) i like that new miley cyrus song. so what?

f) last summer my boyfriend and his family invited me to go to fabulous las vegas with them. while i was there, i spent $500 on a betsey johnson coat, which (thus far) is my most expensive fashion purchase ever. i usually look for deals and sales, but this coat is soooooo adorable, i couldn't resist. and everyone said things like, "you're in vegas... live it up!" and "now you can tell everyone you got it in vegas..." etc. i have to attach a photo to show "y'all" because it's that cute. this picture was taken in the store and i am also wearing the matching dress which i didn't buy:


g) i am obsessed with vintage ads, especially ones that show women in a negative, demeaning, or old-fashioned light. for some reason they really, really, REALLY amuse me. like the following:


and i tag: anybody who wants play... as i've put far too many links in this post already.

crazy man, crazy

i should not be allowed near shopping malls. i hate shopping because i dislike crowds and people who walk too slow and get in my way (it's my german efficiency haha) but i'm really good at it. i can walk into a store and glance around and immediately know what i like/dislike in seconds. no browsing like a chump for me. i can be trying stuff on in the change room of any store just a few minutes after setting foot in the store. but anyway...i digress. i shouldn't be allowed near shopping malls because i buy too much.

i got a really cute pencil skirt at jacob. it is this skirt, but black:


i also got a red t-shirt sweater, but i might return it. so then... i went to h & m and got new skinny jeans and two (yes two) pairs of supercute retro heels. they both have cute t-straps and a little bit of a platform. one pair is white and one pair is red. i was going to return one pair because they were kind of expensive but when i brought them home i knew that was never going to happen! they are made of really soft leather and really comfortable and perfect for summer.

i have a confession to make about the jeans. i got them in the kids section! apparently i have the body of a 13/14 year old girl (this is not surprising to me by the way) :o) i really like skinny jeans because i have no hips and straight legs and they fit me really well. but i've noticed that adult stores (like smart set) are going back to the boot cut. i don't want boot cut! skinny jeans look cute with flats, heels, and fit well under boots. it's a win win win. did you know that jeans from the kids section are only $22.50? it's crazy man, crazy!

last night i asked my boyfriend, "what do you want for dinner?" and he replied, "well, i'm sure you've got something healthy all planned, so why are you even bothering to ask me?" and i say, "well, because i thought for sure you'd be pushing for poutine..." his response was just a drool, haha, so we had poutine and it was yumtastic. i had one too many alcoholic bevs and woke up in the middle of the night so hot with a thirst that couldn't be quenched. and then i couldn't get back to sleep. my mind was racing about cleaning my closet of all things! i had visions of myself sorting everything into piles, and trying on all of my pants, etc. i kept telling myself this was not the time to be thinking about this but my mind wouldn't listen. i guess i know what i'm doing tonight.

when my alarm went off at 6:45 i jumped right out of bed and went for a 5 mile run. i'm sure i'll be tired tonight so i'm happy it's out of the way. here is today's menu:

1/2 granola bar
handful of leftover popcorn from last night (this is why doing dishes before bed is a good idea...)

regular oatmeal with added ground flax and fibre one cereal
frozen mixed berries

pc blue menu shrimp whole wheat pasta frozen microwave meal
red, yellow, orange pepper strips

yogurt and grapes

whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter

dinner ?

wednesday

why do things that are bad for you taste so good with coffee? for example: croissants, muffins, chocolate, anything with butter, pastries, etc. i am enjoying a chocolate right now, with coffee. (reheated in the office kitchen coffee but that's besides the point.) did i mention this chocolate is from italy? yes, it's true. it's sort of good but in that "icey square" chocolate kind of way, and i usually prefer harder chocolate. hopefully one square will be enough to satisfy my craving and move on.

this morning i swam for 30 minutes. when i got home from work last night i did 30 minutes on the bike downstairs and really pushed it at the end and now my legs hurt. swimming is a nice break from legs for me because most of my movement in swimming comes from my upper body. i wanted to ride my bike again to work today but it was raining. nooooooooooo! it's supposed to clear up so maybe, if i'm lucky, i can walk home.

it's funny how priorities change, isn't it? now i'm "lucky" if i can walk home, where as my mindset used to think that was one unlucky break. like if i was walking home from somewhere, and someone i knew came by in a car, and drove me the rest of the way, i'd be thrilled. now i would say, "no thanks - keep it movin' buddy!" and keep walking.

so tonight is date night, which means dinner at my bachelorette pad and watching of ANTM, good enough for me. but if my boyfriend suggests making poutine for dinner one more time, i'm gonna lose it. seriously, that is all he EVER wants to eat. and if i give in and we eat it on wednesday, he still wants it on the weekend. don't get me wrong, i love poutine. we even make a healthy (somewhat...) version, so it's not that terrible. but variety is the spice of life people, let's try something new. for those who don't know, poutine is a wonderful dish from Quebec. traditionally it's fries, topped with cheese curds and covered in gravy. mmmm. we use mccain oven fries (the lowfat variety), with part skim shredded mozzarella cheese, and a packet of powdered swiss chalet gravy (which is only about 20 calories for 1/2 cup or something). so really not bad. now that i'm going on and on about it i kind of want it too. if he wants to make dinner then i will indulge his love of poutine tonight ;)

enough blabbing. i am going shopping at lunch because on friday night i am going to a wedding shower and i have nothing to wear. nothing "classy" anyway. nothing that fits! why did i watch biggest loser last night instead of going through my closet?! if i can get a nice high-waisted pencil skirt or something then i'm set. wish me luck.

today i'm eating:

1/2 granola bar

1/2 banana
a few handfuls of honey nut all bran
steel cut oats with some added all bran

chocolate square (from italy!)

grapes and yogurt

oatmeal with added bran (maybe)

red, orange, yellow peppers with spicy hummus dip

dinner - probably poutine

some new goals

hello everybody. yesterday i was a snacking machine. i think those steel cut oats in the morning messed up my "flo." i just wasn't into them. i made four servings, ate one right away (on sunday night) and put three into tupperware for the week. but then i thought that one serving wasn't enough for me, so i divided one into the other two containers, making each portion 1.5 servings. blah blah blah. are these details really necessary? anyway, yesterday at work my stomach was killing me! i couldn't figure out what was wrong, but eventually i pinpointed it as gas. tmi, i know. when i got home from work i lay on my stomach while watching the news and then felt better.

yesterday morning i did a quick 30 minutes on the stationary bike, rode my bike to and from work, and then ran 4 miles after work. my run was brutal. why? i was just too tired. i need more sleep, so i'm going to make that a priority. starting yesterday! i went to bed at 9:30, read until 10:15, and then snoozed until 6:40. it was amazing. i feel great today! full of energy and not like a walking zombie. and i hate looking like death with dark under eye circles. now that i'm in my mid-late 20s i have to worry about this stuff. :o(

this morning i walked for an hour on the treadmill, did some strength training and sit-ups, and rode my bike to work. pretty fun. i have decided that i need to make some new goals for myself, so here they are:

1) get more sleep. sleep should be a priority! get to bed as early as possible, but by 11-11:30 at the latest.

2) ride my bike to work on every weather appropriate day. it's easy, it saves me money (transit) and it's good for health.

3) eat the food in the freezer. my freezer is so full! and full of good, healthy stuff too so i might as well eat it up.

4) go through my closet and divide everything into four piles. (i saw this on tim gunn's guide to style last night which i have never seen before and didn't finish but taped the rest of to watch another time.) one pile keeper, one pile repair, one pile giveaway and one pile nobody on earth should ever wear these hideous clothes again! good advice. i have a lot of stuff that a) doesn't look good b) doesn't fit and c) is super fug. and now with the changing seasons it's the perfect time to do this.

today's menu is:

1/4 all bran bar (pre work out)
1/4 all bran bar with 1 t peanut butter (post work out)

yogurt with grapes
oatmeal with added flax and all bran

pc blue menu frozen veggie lasagna
1/2 cup leftover veggies from last night

red, yellow, orange peppers with spicy hummus
cheese string

veggie burger on whole wheat english muffin
frozen veggies

thank the good lord above it's friday

the weekend is almost upon us. i got a really good night's sleep last night so i am ready to par-tay, or something. ;o) i chose not to work out this morning because a) i wanted to sleep in and b) ok, so there is just one reason. i can work out on the weekend! friday is also weigh-in day. i was pretty sure i gained but nope, i stayed exactly the same this week. i did have a carb-free dinner, so maybe that helped. and i'm sure getting a nice sleep helped too.

today i am wearing a new shirt, and it's so cute, so i just took some photos to show it off. and to say that it's from joe fresh, which they sell at the supermarket (no joke) and is really cute and cheap.

front view:


side view:


me:


pencil topper view:


that pencil topper came with a jar of bics pickles haha. happy weekend everyone! :o)

thursday madness

today there was a bit of trouble getting to work because of the wind yesterday. apparently it blew the C of of the CIBC building (a bank tower) and some of it was dangling and had to be removed. anyway my king streetcar was diverted off of it's normal route so it took longer to get to work today. i guess it's better than someone being crushed by falling debris... i guess... ;o)

yesterday i bought some awesome pants. better than the shiny pants? it's debatable. they are turquoise high-waisted bell bottoms, by jordache. remember that brand from the 80s? i look like i'm out of that dazed and confused movie. i have to get them hemmed though, because they are too long.

i didn't do any closet cleaning yet, but perhaps i'll have some time tonight after going to the gym. i *have to get to bed early tonight because i am going dancing on friday and saturday of this weekend.

last night for dinner my boyfriend and i made this recipe from the kraft "what's cooking" magazine. it wasn't terribly healthy but it was interesting. here is what we did:

brown 1 lb of extra lean ground beef (we added onions too) and drain. add 2 cups water, 1 cup salsa, and the noodles from 1 package of kraft mac and cheese. bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. then add 2 cups frozen corn, the powdered cheese from the kraft mac and cheese box, some chopped tomatoes, and cook for 2 more minutes. top with chopped green onions and cheddar cheese (we didn't add this cheese) and voila. apparently this makes 4 servings. we each had a huge portion and i'm pretty sure more than 1/2 is leftover.

here is today's menu:

coffee
pc blue menu multigrain oatmeal with 1/2 banana
all bran bar and 1/2 banana
lean cuisine ravioli
reheated green and yellow beans
2 clementines

dinner - i'll worry about that later.

*never happens

merry christmas eve

i have been neglecting exercise in the past couple of days so today it's back to the gym. i did a lot of jumping around on friday and my muscles have been really sore. still, i feel like someone has kicked me in the ribs. ouchy.

i'm going to try and run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. maybe i should check the temp and see what is going on outside. my bf got me this really cute lululemon workout outfit which is nicer than my regular clothes.

today i'm eating

a few things i shouldn't (but already have)
reduced sugar apple cinnamon oatmeal
soup probably
maybe a salad - i should go grocery shopping

and now on to the gym.

tgiw

i'm happy it's wednesday because the week is almost half over. yesterday one of my friends sent me this little gem about tuesday. oh, it's funny because it's true, like so maybe things.

i need to admit that i have an addiction to american apparel. i love simple clothes that fit well, are made of cotton and spandex, and don't have any slogans or writing on them. it's genious! true, some of the clothes may seem expensive, but they are all made in a sweatshop-free-factory in downtown LA and that's pretty cool. i love the leggings and the dresses. i also have a bathing suit from aa. groovy!

this morning i woke up early and made chocolate chip banana bran muffins. only, i like to add a bit of vanilla, and today i decided to use 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 white chocolate chips. oh boy! i had one for breakfast (who can resist warm, fresh-baked goods! no one, that's who!) and it was very tasty and the two-colour chips looked very appealing.

yesterday in the grocery store i FINALLY found no-sugar-added pudding cups. i avoided pudding cups in the past because a) i could really take it or leave it—pudding is good but not that special and b) the ones with sugar are sugar laden and 2 points a.k.a not worth it. but the no-sugar added ones are only 1 point and have 0g of sugar. i don't really "get" how they taste so delicious. i got vanilla even though i spent a few minutes debating between that and butterscotch. i couldn't find them before because they are not kept with the regular pudding cups, they are kept with the dairy in the cold section. what in the world?

this week has been good and on plan so far. i am still trying to eat only when hungry and it's going pretty well. i went to the gym last night before meeting up with a friend for some drinks/gossip. who wants one?


here is today's menu:

chocolate chip banana bran muffin (1)
oatmeal with pumpkin (3)
chefboyardee ravoli microwave cup (4)
salad with dressing (1)

semi-total (9)
i have some leftover panang thai so perhaps for dinner i'll steam some rice and dump it on. the word "dump" definitely makes it sound less appetizing but trust me, it's good.