working hard, not hardly working

i love summer but it's a bit crazy!

last week i followed my half-marathon training plan to a T.

this week we have:

monday: swimming 35 minutes (i'm switching this with running - i just can't run on mondays ... too tired!)
tuesday: running 4 to 5 miles
wednesday: rest
thursday: running 4 to 5 miles
friday: swimming 35 minutes
saturday: running 4 to 5 miles
sunday: rest

my weekend was good. i had friday off in lieu of working wednesday, canada day. on thursday night i met one of my girlfriends at fresh, and it was absolutely phenomenal. i ordered the "energy" bowl which was marinated tofu cubes, rich coconut curry sauce, chick pea & vegetable stew, cucumber, tomato, red onion, sunflower sprouts & tahini sauce on brown basmati rice. i asked for no cucumbers and got beets or carrot instead - the bowl was a bit messy so i couldn't tell.

i also ordered the hot lung lover drink which was made from pineapple, apple, ginger, lemon, cayenne and a respiratonic. i have been on the brink of having a lung/cough/sore throat for about a week now. i am killing it with tons of vitamin C and cold fx. i think i may have beaten it because now i just have a dry cough and that's it.

anyway, it was one of the greatest meals i've ever had. everything is vegetarian and healthy - perhaps not low in calories but that's ok. i wish i was there right now.

friday i went swimming in the morning, worked (at home - i am very busy with work) all day, then went to the dentist in the afternoon. DAMMIT they sure did probe my gums! my whole mouth killed for hours afterward. i have no cavities but the chip fell out of a previously chipped tooth so i have to go back and get that fixed. on friday night i went to a bbq - our host made sweet potato fries, bbq'd asparagus, chicken kabobs and burgers. i had everything but no bun with the burger - delish. i also enjoyed samuel adams summer wheat ale which had a hint of lemon. enjoyed it.

saturday, worked all day again, went for a 4-mile run in the early afternoon. i am finding the 5-milers to be too much for me right now. i think it's the throat cough wearing me down. in the evening i went to see poison and def leppard with some friends. no i'm not joking haha. it was a lot of fun. this post is getting too long! more tomorrow :)

another good one

yesterday was another good day. i went for an hour walk in the morning, stayed on plan all day, enjoyed TWO hours of top model, and had sushi for dinner. this is a big deal because i've always really hated sushi. i've tried it a few times and each time the outcome was not good. in fact, the last two times i've had it at a restaurant i vomited during the night.

last night i went to my boyfriend's house and we decided to get sushi. we got one vegetarian avocado roll, one chicken something roll (fried, but tiny pieces and delicious), and one order of bulgogi to share, which is a lean prime beef dish with veggies. after eating half of that i was soooo stuffed. perhaps it was the 10,000 litres of water i drank... i was just so thirsty. i must have refilled his brita filter 15 times over the course of the night. it was so hot in there, which is probably why. it made sleeping really difficult and i woke up to a nightmare about being chased by a swarm of bees!

yesterday i also made chocobran muffins mmmmmmm. forgot how delicious these are. i was at the grocery store yesterday and saw weight watchers cookies and was almost tempted to buy them when i realized how silly that was. i could make mandy's chocobrans for cheaper and they would be tastier with more substance. i ate one yesterday right away (of course) and then had another one this morning crumbled into my oatmeal... chocolatey and delicious.

this morning i walked home from which was about 2.5 miles. not too bad. i might go swimming if the pool has cooled down. i emailed the building manager and he was playing up the situation like it had just happened last weekend, but the pool has been getting hotter and hotter all summer.

here is my planned menu for today so far:

source yogurt with sprinkle special k yogurt something (2)
2/19

walk home (-2)
0/19

oats (3)
chocobran (1)
1/2 banana (1)
coffee (0)
5/19

2 slices ww bread (1)
1/4 cup egg whites (0.5)
1 slice ff cheese (0.5)
7/19

1 cup grapes (1)
yogurt (2)
10/19

that's all i know so far.

summer concerto

it was a good idea to ride my bike to my boyfriend's apartment yesterday, because this morning i just zipped home (it's mostly downhill on the way home) and i didn't have to wait for any sort of slow delayed transit. it was a good date last night because he made me dinner, but also not that great since we bought a futon (just a few doors down... but still) and then had to carry the massive frame and mattress up 2 flights of super steep narrow stairs. and then put it together... and of course the instructions were ridiculous. there were two lengths of bolts... long and short - and it didn't tell you where to use each one. eventually i figured it out and now he has a really nice futon.

even yesterday i was feeling the effects of getting too much sun the day before. i wasn't really burned since i used sunscreen, but felt really weak and weary. oh woe is me. yesterday at the end of my swim i was beginning to feel a little faint, like if i got out of the pool at that exact moment and tried to walk over to my towel, i might not make it. i was fine though.

in a few moments i am going to do the pilates 50-minute fat burning video. it starts with some basic stretching, then some cardio dance-like moves, then more stretching, and then the last ten minutes or so is actual pilates mat floor exercises. it's a pretty good workout i think.

and then tonight i am going to see blue rodeo at the outside amphitheatre. my friend's boss gave her free tickets... not complaining! finally it's a beautiful summer day! (not raining)

one step ahead

excuse my absence yesterday. ;) i went for a swim and then to the doctor (in the burbs) all before noon. the doctor sent me for x-rays, which won't come back for a few days, but suspects sciatica (my self-diagnosis). i am taking "advil liquigels" for the pain. she wanted to prescribe something but i said no since i don't have a drug plan anymore. wah wah wee wah!

anyway then it was date night. thanks for all of the nice responses on how to avoid mindlessly eating throughout the day. very helpful! i think the eating at certain times is a good idea. also, i've been having mostly fruit for breakfast instead of a big bowl of oatmeal. fruit and yogurt.

today is another busy day. 1) the company that hired internally has a different position available and called me to come in and interview for it. wish me luck! :o) and 2) i am going to the canadian open. my friend works on the course and got me a ticket. i don't like golf but blue rodeo is playing tonight and i love blue rodeo. i also scored my dad a ticket (because he loves golf) so he is meeting me there as well.

that's about it:
today on the menu is fruit, yogurt, a sandwich, and some free bbq at the canadian open.

guess what?

it's friday! and not just any friday. the beginning of summer hours (which means i leave work at 1pm) and a four day weekend that starts tomorrow. can you believe that tuesday is the actual holiday and some people have to work on monday? i feel sorry for people who aren't allowed to take monday as a vacation day. suckers.

friday is weigh-in day and i am 118 pounds which is up 0.2 from last week which is nothing so a stay the same. congratulations to me. i feel good about it, although last night before bed i was a bit hungry and pushed it aside. yesterday i was talking to my bff who is also a long time weight watcher and i was saying that i never want to feel too full again. i hate hate HATE that feeling. she agreed. she said, she would rather feel ravenously hungry than too full and i agree.

this morning i ran 4 miles around town and i'm happy i did it (when it was over) but i probably should have taken a rest day. but i was already up (mental alarm) so why not put that time to good use? this afternoon i am going shopping. i have a bunch of things to return to h & m... also i need some sort of summer foot ware. i can't wear my keds every day. why not? because i am 27 not thirteen :) my feet are a little gross (from running, not from warts and other unsightly foot problems) but i don't care.

tomorrow morning i am heading to my hometown because my family is burying my uncle who passed away in february. my mom's side of the family is different in that we don't "do" funerals. we attend them of course, but don't have them for ourselves. what's the point? (don't answer that haha... rhetorical.) to each their own. anyway, we are burying his ashes with my grandparents so that's saturday. on tuesday i am going to a canada day bbq which should be fun... and yummy.

and for kicks, here is a friday five of things that make me happy today:

1) i through out the rest of the cake last night. i licked the icing once but i threw it out.

2) i love q-tipping after a shower. it feels really good!

3) that i woke up to a clean condo (it wasn't magic, i did it all last night)

4) berries (this morning was cherries, blackberries, and raspberries... except now i have none left.)

5) my cutie pie oliver :) yes he has blue nails. they are softpaws... for people who are against declawing but also against having scratched, ragged furniture.