a week of firsts

i think i've finally recovered from my race on sunday. except for the extreme laziness that is lingering over me! i have a training plan (part of the online plan i got when i registered for the race) and it continues for three weeks post race, to help your body get back to a regular work out schedule.

here is what this week looks like:

monday: rest
tuesday: 20 minute cross-training (i swam)
wednesday: rest
thursday: 30 minutes running
friday: rest
saturday: 3 miles running
sunday: rest

i think i can handle it. on monday i was SO STIFF i could hardly move. i wasn't in pain when i was sitting, but getting up after an extended period of sitting, or going up and down stairs (why am i on the second floor of my office, dammit!?) was brutal. i bought some epson salts and took a bath. i felt a bit better.

yesterday (on tuesday) i was feeling less stiff, but i went for a massage after work. my benefits have massage coverage (my boss reminded me) so i thought why the hell not?! i have never had a massage before because i don't like strangers touching me but it was quite heavenly and my masseuse was really nice. i booked it at the same place i went for chiropractic treatments in the summer of 2008 when i had extreme bum pain. very professional and nice smelling too. when i left my contacts were stuck to my eyeballs like i just had a nap, haha!

tonight is date night and i am taking my bf on a surprise date. he doesn't read my blog so i can tell you. we are going to see jerry springer the opera. it's supposed to be hilarious - this review told me. it's being put on by the university of toronto so i bought student tickets for $10 each instead of the regular $25 adult ones. i still look young and my student card doesn't have a date ... mwa ha ha. hey, i'm on a budge here! i hate watching jerry springer on tv (what a waste of time!) but i love musicals and parodies too.

in other news, work is still crazy busy. insane! but good insane. i am going on a business trip next week. for one night. to peterborough, ha! are you jealous?

and finally, i am on a mission to declutter my apartment. i have so much crap - there isn't enough space for everything. i am going through it room by room and deciding what must go! well, first i'm cleaning room by room, then decluttering. i can't declutter a mess ... that's gross. so on monday i did the kitchen and last night the bathroom and vacuuming. the bedroom will be the biggest project because i hoard clothes like they were precious jewels. stuff that's ugly and doesn't even fit. i don't even want to sell this stuff - i will give some to my sister and the rest can go to goodwill. the end. have a nice day.

look at this cat hoarding his toys! hahaha mine all mine. stop looking at me!

day two thank you

day two was another food and exercise success. i ate breakfast at home, had lunch plus two snacks at work, went swimming and had a delicious dinner. on monday night i did have a vitatop brownie, but it's all good. now that i am back to tracking on ww online, i realize how different the site is. i know they changed the plan to the "momentum" plan, but since my points never changed and i already ate the more "healthy" filling foods anyway i didn't really look at it too much.

the new plan gives you a daily points allotment, 35 weekly points, and activity points. BUT you must use all of your daily points AND weekly points before any of your activity points are deducted. AND you can only use your activity points on the same day you earn them. so basically, you don't really get them except for the last day unless you eat all of your weekly points early on in the week, which heaven forbid, i would never do. i think that is how it works. i'm sure somebody will correct me if i'm not. i did a google search on this and apparently people are inconvenienced and outraged by this. i don't care because it's not the end of the world, is it? what is a point anyway but a figment of my imagination? a meaningless obstacle on this road we call weight loss. i'm deep.

my dinner last night was an egg white omelet. i wanted an egg, but i didn't have one. i did have lots of leftover veggies though. i chopped and heated up some red onion, zucchini, red pepper, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, avocado, and sun-dried tomato. then i poured 3/4 cup egg whites onto another pan and let it cook into a circle. transfer to a plate, pour the veggies on half, fold it over, sprinkle with chili lime sauce, add 2 slices of ezekiel toast, and you have a delicious, nutritious, filling 5.5 point meal.

in other news, my skin is really breaking out. what is with this mid-life acne! grrrr. i use pro-activ but it's not working. i think it's from stress and womanly business. who can be sure though? taking ground flax has eliminated most of my PMS symptoms (except the extreme snappiness and sensitivity) WHO SAID THAT!@@?@?@!! i'm sorry, come back, i love you.



mmm look at that candy. tonight is date night and i am going to see the musical "spring awakening" with my beau. i am very excited. first we are going to sears so i can buy more nylons for work, second we are going to harveys for dinner (6 point veggie burger OR grilled chicken salad) and third to the really big shoe. i am not swimming tomorrow but may do yoga in the morning. that's a big "may" since i already get up at 6:15 as it is! happy wednesday. one day at a time, right?

eat and sleep and swim

last night i went for a 40-minute swim, and then this morning i went for another 40-minute swim. it's just so easy and painless. by the end of it, i feel like i've worked hard. i am not dead tired, not really that out of breath, but my muscles are sore. i'm mostly just a bit cold and sick of being wet, if that makes sense.

check out this crazy picture i found of a white tiger swimming:

looks just like me. grrrrrr. how would you like to run into that beast in the deep end? yikes!

in other news, tonight for dinner i am making chicken enchiladas. it's date night and i am in a date cooking rut. my boyfriend is easy to please with the stupidest foods. he is polish and grew up with his mom cooking gourmet meals all of the time so he missed out on things like hot dogs and macaroni and cheese and now it's a big novelty for him. i have never made chicken enchiladas before but i'm ready. i'm looked up a few recipes and have the gist of it down: roll up filling, place in tomato saucy pan, cover with more sauce, some cheese, bake. i think i will fill mine with onions, red pepper, chicken, a bit of cheese, and green onions. i'm starting simple with things i know i like and can experiment next time. i'm serving the enchiladas with a side of zatarain's red beans and rice which i have never made before but seems to be pretty popular based on my google image search.

i'm going to try and squeeze in some yoga before my boyfriend comes over. in other news, i downloaded the new lily allen CD, "it's not me, it's you" and it's amazing. loving it! i got the explicit version but it's also available without swearing on iTunes.

i am so shopped out

today i am not at work. i had another first interview this morning. it went really well. except... stupid me forgot to turn off my cell phone and it actually rang! for the love of pete! (who is pete, anyway?) i think i played it cool and it wasn't a huge deal but still. i only forgot because i arrived super early, and then sat outside on a bench reading until it was an appropriate time to come inside... and so forgot. oh well, i'm not going to dwell. what's past is past.

i am still doing really well on my plan. low carb, small portions, walking. i should go and walk now but i am so shopped out. i forgot to mention that after my interview i went to the eaton centre to finish my christmas shopping. and to shop for me of course. i deserve new things too! i got a nice gold make up bag from sephora for my boyfriend's mom. now my shopping is totally complete.

for myself i bought some black tights, satin gloves, black turtleneck, purple shirt, black shirt with lace, lace cover up thing, and two dress from H & M. yes, it sounds like a lot and it is in volume, but everything there is so cheap. the most expensive thing was $25 and some of the items were on for $10. at H & M they have "100 den" tights which means that you can't see through them at all. i love a nice black leg, don't you?

i also bought a fancy red dress from jacob. it's strapless and poufs a bit around the waist, and is knee length. i need a new dress because i am going to a wedding at the end of the month, and for new year's. since i won't be spending those two occasions with any of the same people, i can double up and get my money's worth. i went SO MANY PLACES and tried on dresses: H & M, Jacob, Guess, Banana Republic, Mango, Zara... on and on and on. Banana Republic had that 40% off sale today but I didn't really find anything I liked that was special.

tonight is date night, after dinner. and tomorrow morning i have a second interview (for a job i interviewed for last week). should i go and walk now? did all my mall walking count as today's walking? i will let the universe decide and wait for a sign and go eat some raspberry jello light in the meantime. :)

zzzzzz zombie

do you ever have periods of time, i mean days, where you are just tired? that's how i feel right now. i got home from buffalo and just wanted to veg on the couch. that's not unreasonable, because i didn't get home until 7:30pm, after a long day of shopping and driving. i watched gossip girl and last week's biggest loser. boy, do i ever dislike vicky! not only does she say mean things, but then she smirks about it too! like what she said was a real great jab... it was just mean, not clever! i don't want to think about her anymore or steam might come out of my ears.

this morning i was going to get up and swim but decided to sleep for longer instead. i am tired and lazy. i figure as long as i don't eat over my points, a few days of non-activity isn't going to turn me into a pile of mush. this week is so busy, too. tonight is date night, since tomorrow i have a sewing line (we are making A-line skirts), and thursday is book club. the book is divisadero, by michael ondaatje.

that's all for now. make sure you scroll down to read about all the yummy food i got in the states.

pizza pizza

today is rainy and gray. typical november. it's also that time of year when all media from the united states is bombarding us about thanksgiving. well... been there, done that in october! i don't need to know how to make healthy cranberry sauce and stuffing NOW! not that i make that stuff for canadian thankgiving either ;)

i am feeling pretty great this week. my pants are fitting way better. PHEWF! the feeling of having your pants fit is so much better than the two minute enjoyment i'd get from eating a donut. mmmm donuts. i mean, yay pants! someone actually brought donuts to the office on tuesday. i didn't eat one but i brought one home and put it in my freezer. for as long as i have existed with teeth on this planet, i have loved walnut crunch donuts from tim hortons. i have memories of being a child and going there with my grandparents and getting that. always that one. every other donut was a disappointment in comparison. even kid-friendly ones with sprinkles. of course i have to choose the one with the most fat and calories! isn't that always the way! maybe i'll stop talking about donuts now, sorry! so the donut is in my freezer but i'm not worried. i will split it with my boyfriend on the weekend or something. 1/2 a donut = good times.

last night was wednesday date night, and so we ordered pizza. i didn't really want to but he was starving and said i could order "that gross multigrain crust" if i wanted. ha! we got a thin crust pizza (not multigrain) with mushrooms, red onion, green pepper, pepperoni, and spicy italian sausage. i had three small pieces... and i mean small. it was like 1.5 of the bigger ones total. i really was so impressed with myself for stopping when i was satisfied and not too full. it helped that i was using a knife and fork to slow me down. my boyfriend finished three pieces in the time it took me to consume one. do you like that word: consume?


i didn't exercise today (yet!!!) but hopefully i can do something tonight. not running because my inner thighs are a bit ouchy, but either a long walk (i have some new magazines) or a swim. probably a walk.

much better hair day

today i am feeling much better. last night i got home from work starving. if i am working out at night, usually i like to work out first and then eat dinner (because eating feels like a reward, don’t you think?) but last night i felt so hungry and weak that i decided to eat first and it gave me a lot more energy for the workout. and it’s better that way anyway because then i can avoid eating too late.

at the gym i did 20 minutes on the elliptical, then stretches, sit-ups, lunges with 5 pound weights, and girl push-ups, 10 more minutes on the elliptical, and then i walked up the stairs (10 floors) to my apartment. good workout and it burned about 350 calories. (i was wearing my HRM). i like to break up the cardio on the elliptical because a) it’s really hard! and b) it's better to pause and keep your heart rate up for longer. i don’t know what it is about the elliptical machines in my condo gym, but they are really tough. a lot less smooth than really nice elliptical machines i’ve used at professional gyms, but they work nonetheless. and i know this because my heart rate is out of control. usually around 150-160 and sometimes bordering 170 if i am really pushing it. now i wonder if i just liked other machines because they were easier... who knows, whooo whooo? (owl)

after the gym, my legs felt wobbly and jiggly. obviously i need to do more lunges with weights. i haven’t been doing very much weight training lately because of all of my swimming. my upper body muscles are definitely getting bigger from all of that resistance water training, but i guess since i’m not running (more on that another time) my legs are feeling left out. i’m going to incorporate more leg work at the gym: lunges, squats maybe, some press machines... that sort of thing. anyway after the gym, i felt all wobbly and jiggly and even though i wasn’t hungry, i had a source yogurt with ½ scoop vanilla protein powder. i felt so much better! obviously my muscles needed some protein right away. i’ve read that you should eat a protein-y snack right after doing any muscle-tearing activity to help the rebuilding process.

this morning i did 30 minutes of swimming even though i didn’t want to. i was a bit stiff from my workout last night, but i don’t want to wimp out on exercise during the week. i want to exercise at least five days a week, six if i am feeling energetic.

this morning i also made regular oats (1/3 cup) with tim horton’s pumpkin spice tea that was brewing (steeping?) during my whole swim. with ¼ cup all bran, ¼ cup pumpkin, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice it was a breakfast sent from autumn heaven. i ate some strawberries too.

tonight is date night and we are having poutine and watching top model. my boyfriend begs for poutine. what a sad addiction ;). it’s actually not bad at all. mccain low fat fries, swiss chalet gravy from the powder (pretty light), and served with a turkey grill ‘em or two if you are really hungry and love sausages. sometimes we have cheese (light mozzarella) and sometimes we don’t. it doesn’t make that much of a difference anyway because the gravy is deeeeevine.

what else? i finished last week’s audiobook and went to the library on monday to exchange it for another. i pretty much only listen in the car. i picked up teacher man, by frank mccourt . it’s great but read by the author and his voice can be really annoying when he imitates students. i have read his other books and they are awesome as well. have a great wednesday bloggers.

it's wednesday

last night went by too fast. i got home from work, cleaned out the food cupboards and the inside of the fridge, behind the fridge, the floor, etc. i re-organized the cabinets and now it seems much more organized... not necessarily spacious but less cluttered with that things-thrown-in-randomly look.

then i made myself another gigantuan salad with spinach, a chopped roasted sweet potato (one of the biggest i've ever seen), spicy thai flavoured shrimp (15... they are little), roasted almond slivers, baby tomatoes, frozen peas (cooked), and honey mustard dressing. sound weird? it was delicious!

and THEN i went down to the gym, did a quick 15 minute walk on the treadmill, did some upper and lower body strength training, sit-ups, and then 15 minutes on the stationary bike.

my pants are feeling tight today and i don't like it. it's also chilly willy nilly again and i don't like that. however, today is wednesday and date night and antm night which is alright with me. my bf is sick so i am going to make a nice warm dinner tonight: mrs. furious's turkey and meatball soup. i have the soup, noodles and turkey meatballs already so it should be really easy and quick. i will probably add more meatballs and noodles... maybe. it depends on how lonely they look in the pot. i have never made this before but hear wonderful things about it.

a quick thing about meatballs. i have been making my own turkey meatballs with ground turkey, egg, bread crumsb, some parm... rolling up that gross raw meat with my bare hands... all in the name of health. i thought these meat balls were the bomb diggity. last friday i walked home from work and passed an m & m's meat shop. i went in to see if they had turkey meatballs and they did, so i bought them. anyhoo, my bf must have said a thousand times how tasty these meatballs are—he never said anything nice about the homemade meatballs i SLAVED over. actually i'm sure i asked him how they were and he said, "good" but that is a big diff from raving on and on about them. so - no more will i put my hands in that meaty goo. i'm going to buy the m & m's meatballs and be done with it.

i forget what else i was going to talk about today. this morning i ran for 4 miles... it was not the most fun but i'm more than halfway to my goal of 15 miles per week. i've added a summer challenge sidebar. today's menu is:

1/2 banana with pb
1/3 fibre source bar
coffee

regular quaker instant oatmeal with flax
added 1/4 cup shreddies
clementine

source yogurt
strawberries

cinnamon spice oatmeal with pumpkin and 1/4 cup shreddies
sugar snap peas with hummus

turkey meatball soup
whole wheat roll
salad

hello wednesday

i was a bit late for work today. it's not a big deal because i work in a very relaxed atmosphere. if you get here at 9:15, it's early, 9:30, average, 9:40 is pushing it. but of course we stay a big later too. no one is rushing out the door at 5pm. i like it! i couldn't get it going this morning... everything i did was so slow. i went for a four mile run and i did it, but it took a long time. sometimes my strides are long and i'm a speed demon, but today i was inching along like a little worm. i made another big iced coffee when i got home. yabba dabba do!

last night on the ride home from work i stopped at a shoe store and bought three pairs of keds. yes, keds! at first i typed "shore" instead of "shoe store" hahaha can you tell i'm slow today? i will take pictures of the shoes (and my other new shoes, and my painted apartment). a coworker just said, "i like your shoes" this very instant... while i am typing this! i will find photos online of the keds. i got classic canvas white:


these navy slip-ons which i am wearing today:


and these adorable wedges:


i really needed new shoes for summer... ones that do not need socks. last night i made another giant salad. this time i used spinach, some head lettuce, a chopped tomato, 1 cup cooked peas, 1/2 cup cooked corn, 8 chopped almonds, a handful of dried blueberries, 1/8 cup fiber one (the rest of the bag), and a sol cuisine spicy soy burger chopped up. and fat free ranch dressing. it was huge and delicious. i had two glasses of white wine at my book club as well.

today is wednesday, antm and date night! on the menu today is:

1/2 banana with pb2 peanut butter (1.5) pre workout
1 slice sprouted grains bread (1) post workout

giant iced coffee (0)
hot coffee (0)
clementine (0.5)
(3)

oatmeal with flax (3)
1/2 banana (1)
(7)

mini cinnamon bagel (2)
coffee yogurt (3)
grapes (1)
(13)

source yogurt (1)
more grapes (1)
kamut puffs (1)
(16)

dinner ?

the most beautiful day yet

today it is sunny and it's going to be 20°C. if i didn't have a job i would drag my papasan chair out on the balcony (this is a fantasy of mine that has yet to happen) and read, read, read until my head exploded. i am about 30 pages from finishing suite francaise and then i am starting the assassin's song and today i have another book on hold to pick up at the library. it is the black book of hollywood diet secrets. whoopee! i am interested to read these tips. hopefully some will be useful, if not i'm sure they will be amusing nonetheless.

i boozed it up a little last night on my "date" but went to bed pretty early and woke up early this morning for a great run: 5 miles! in the bright, beautiful sunshine. how nice. i also rode my bike to work. i know any movement at all counts as exercise, but the reason i don't want to include riding my bike to work in my planned workouts (although i do write it in the blog sidebar) , is because it doesn't burn that many calories. sometimes (most of the time) when i workout i get cocky about being able eat more/increase my portions, so in my mind i have to think about riding my bike to work like an after dinner stroll... a light, fun, activity that's nice, just not hardcore.

anyway i've had this blog post open for hours so i'm going to post it. today i'm eating:

1/2 banana with 1t real peanut butter

bite of a bran muffin (homemade)
handful of grapes

coffee
weight control maple brown sugar oatmeal with added flax and fiber one

source yogurt with salba

leftover dinner from last night: smart penne with tomato sauce, baked with onions, peas, red, yellow, orange peppers, and turkey grill 'em sausages
spinach salad with sun dried tomatoes

source yogurt mixed with grapes

and for dinner... ?

fit but not going to strip

good afternoon to you. here are the latest scoops in a list format:

1) my sewing class was great. i learned how to use different kinds of sewing machines, how to thread a machine, how to wind a bobbin, how to pin things, cut fabric, use a fancy iron, and make a pillow. my pillow looks great and not to boast but i think it was the best in the class. why? well, there were only six of us and also, i took my time. i didn't rush through the stitches. less pressure on the foot people - slow and steady wins the pillow race in the end. so i forgot to take a photo of it this morning, but i will.

2) i walked home, got home and my foot was freezing. i made oatmeal and tea and it was delicious. then i vacuumed my entire apartment. i love having a vacuumed apartment because it's all some sort of fake wood and i hate anything crunching beneath my feet.

3) this morning, as you can see by the new exercise panel on the right hand side of the page, i wanted to get up early and do a long incline switching walk on the treadmill. to do that i have to get up at 6:15 am. but i didn't get up until 7 am. so... i did the only workout video i have. carmen electra fit to strip! before you get too excited i only have the second workout dvd in this series, and it doesn't include any stripping. this is the fitness dvd, that is designed to give you the body you want to strip with. it's actually a good video and a good workout and right now my bum hurts.


4) i have a date tonight and once again, by date i just mean my boyfriend is coming over and we are going to make dinner and do some smooching. i love these dates. except he always wants to eat poutine. he would eat poutine every night if he could. granted, i am not worried about calories or points as we make a very low fat version (low fat mccain fries [the pink package], reduced fat mozzarella, and swiss chalet home style powdered gravy) but still. how much poutine can one person eat? i think i need to work on my chef skillz. skillz with a z.

5) today i'm eating:

before fit stripping:
1/2 banana
tea

got to work:
coffee
1/2 banana

and then:
2 melba toast rounds

and then a breakfast snack:
weight control maple brown sugar oatmeal (seriously this is addicting)
fat free source yogurt

and later i will consume...

for lunch:
lean cuisine mango chicken curry

and a snack:
a fat free vanilla source yogurt

and for dinner:
anything but poutine

windy day

today is very windy. you know you don't have anything exciting to say when you talk about a) the weather and b) how tired you are. people talking about how tired they are is very boring. why? because everybody is tired! nobody wants to wake up at 5:30 or 6:00 or 7:00 or even 7:30 like me. ok, today it was 8:00. i kept hitting the snooze.

thanks everybody for all of your nice comments yesterday. big head growing... vanity rising... haha just kidding. my arms are quite buff - i'd like to thank my 5 to 15 pound dumb bells, various protein sources, complex carbs, my mom, my cat, and um.... also the swimming pool.

this is my cat, oliver:







i blew up these happy face balloons for the new year's party and he was fascinated by them. yes, he has blue nails but they are soft paws!

tonight i have a date with my boyfriend, and by "date" i mean making dinner and smooching at my house. i suckered him into seeing atonement last weekend so he deserves a break. atonement was good by the way, although not as good as the book (of course).

last night for dinner i made a giant spinach salad which had - spinach, cooked green and yellow beans, 2 slices peppercorn chicken bacon (chopped), roasted cauliflower, edamame beans out of the shell, almonds, raisins, carrots, and raspberry dressing. yum. i couldn't eat it all so i brought some for lunch today, minus the spinach because soggy spinach = bleh!

so i'm eating:
reduced sugar oatmeal with 1/2 banana
all bran bar and 1/2 banana
that leftover salad mixture
clementines
a ravioli lean cuisine
green and yellow beans