Back to the real world

Yep, my days off are over. Back to work this morning. I do get Monday off, but I'm kinda cheesed that my long weekend is shot. Good thing I'll get an additional shift differential! Will post more later....

Body woes

So my neck and shoulder are messed up again. I have limited range of motion both (last time it was just my neck). Good thing my neighbour across the street from Angus is a RMT. Best part, she makes house calls!!

She's coming down this morning and then Angus and his mom are bringing Phoenix (neighbour dog) and we're all having a date in the dog park by the river. What fun! And I get to see my darling boy again. =P

Went to the pub last night with S and family. His bro is visiting with his fiancee from Japan. Had a bison burger with 10 fries and S & I split the Leprechaun pie. All washed down with Strongbow:

Good Grains #2

To add to my fabulous day, a fabulous lunch!

Lettuce from my garden, drizzled with 1 tsp of EVOO, 1 tsp balsamic, 1 tsp maple syrup and 1 tsp of grainy mustard:


Here's the grain. Quinoa and kernel corn served with a grilled piece of garlic pepper chicken from Costco. I also added a scant quarter cup of salsa to the quinoa for flavour.

When I used to be organized, on Sundays I would grill up enough chicken for the week and then aliquot the quinoa/corn mixture into each. Top with a piece of grilled chicken, add 1/4 cup of salsa and a sprinkle of old cheddar. It's the perfect reheat-able lunch!


Served with a tall glass of water with a squeeze of lemon, with Justin Rutledge playing in the background:


I'm full! Had to leave some:


Note the food journal beside the plate. Add there's actually writing in it!!

FABULOUS Day!

I'm having one! I love days off in the middle of the week!

I slept in and had a lazy morning, sipping chai, checking blogs and IM'ing with my cousin.

Then, I made a training schedule for Melissa's Road Race which is 6 short weeks away!! Egad, where does the time go?! So then I slipped on my runners and my Garmin and went to get my heart a-pumpin'.

Garmin says:
31:06 minutes
4.30 km
Average speed: 8.3km/h
The 5K in less than 30 minutes will happen soon, I know it!

Then I grabbed the hula hoop I bought at Folk Fest and hooped for 3 minutes.

Came in and did a 20 minute yoga practice followed by a 10 minute meditation.

*sigh*

Who knows what the rest of the day will bring?

I've been feeling kinda blah about how the scale hasn't been my friend, but my run today proves that it's not all about the number on the scale. My fitness level has improved dramatically since boot camp started and my clothes are fitting differently, too. I've got the old journal out to write everything down, so hopefully I'll find my losing groove again soon!

200

Posts.

That is all.

=)

Grain post #1

As I was catching up on blogs, I came across this week's challenge: whole grains. Easy, peasy! Since I was kinda snacky, I whipped up a batch of my favourite grain:

POPCORN!
Note the supersized container of Orville's. It's almost empty. Popcorn is my go-to snack 'cause I can control the fat, with the added benefit of forcing me to FLOSS!


Nutritional yeast and 1TBSP of buttah:


And a sprinkle of sea salt & 1 TBSP yeast:


The perfect snack!

Stay tuned for more grains this week...I've been craving an old favourite (Mexican chicken and quinoa) and channa masala on bulgar. Yummy!

Catching up

Whew! So I've been super busy lately. Here's who was taking up most of my time:

Puppy dog eyes when I was leaving yesterday.




Having brekkie. A big boy (165-ish pounds of Bull Mastiff) needs good food. He eats clean, too. His parents make all his food for him from scratch. He's slightly spoiled.

His name is Angus and he's my other boyfriend!

Goals & Rewards

Hmmmm....I've had my thinking hat on all week. I think the heat's been messing with me though, 'cause I'm still not overly focused. Alas, here's what I've got so far:

Long term goal: return to my goal weight (159) and maintain successfully.
How shall I get there?
-Continue to attend boot camp with Josh 3X/week
-Listen to my body and eat when I'm hungry, not tired or bored
-Use food as fuel, not an emotional crutch
-Eat local and clean as much as possible
-Resume my yoga and meditation practice

What do I get for all that?
-Lasered! It's taken me awhile to come up with this one, but seriously, if I could forgo the shaving of the pits and waxing of the bits forever, I will be one happy camper.
-A new tatoo (of what, I'm not sure, I've got a little time)
-A vacation (instead of staying home and being fiscally responsible!)

What baby steps can I take?
-Run a 5K in less than 30 minutes. Apparently hills will help with the speed. This is good, because Josh likes hills. I'm starting to like them too, but don't tell!
-Go to bed at a regular time (this is hard when you work shift work, but can be done)
-Eat from my garden and farmer's market
-Make my lunch to take to work. Only eat what I take to work! I have resisted the call of the vending machine of late, but it's a toughie!
-Resurrect the food journal. Where isthat....
-Train smart for Melissa's Road Race in September. Training begins this week! I want to beat last year's time which is totally doable. I've just gotta do it.
-No more scale slave. WI is ONCE a week. Saturday mornings.

Mini-rewards:
-new Lulu gear
-argyll cycling ensemble (gloves, a skirt and cute shirt)
-massage


That's all I've got for now. Gotta run. Folk Fest is AMAZING!

Fly-by post

Greetings from the far, far north east end of Calgary! Egad, how do people live up here?! Thankfully, I've got my fave guy, Angus, around to keep me company. He's a three year old bull mastiff and he weighs what I would like to weigh. I forgot my camera at my house, and one day I will figure out how to get the photos off of my phone and onto here...I'll try and get my act together tomorrow!


Alas, the 4:30 wake up will come sooner than I'd like, so I'd better get to bed. I've been thinking of my goals and will post them later this week.

'Night!

Weekly challenge: Moose is Loose!

My weekly challenge was completed this morning when I ran the 10K Moose is Loose trail run in Edmonton with some friends I haven't seen in ages.

Photos will come later. Jo took them all, I have none. She has a two month old baby. It may be a day or so....

Many Ramblings

1. WI this morning = bad. Up. A lot. Arrrgh. And I can't blame this one on an evening WI (although it is still considerably less than Thursday evening's).

2. Had a fabulous day in the mountains yesterday. I'll post pictures as soon as S. and/or C. send them to me. My camera is huge and doesn't travel well. Theirs are much smaller!

3. Neck still hurts but range of motion better. Advil is still my friend.

4. I get custody of Angus (I'm dog sitting this week) on Sunday. I can't wait! We're going to have so much fun!

5. This time next week, I'll be hanging out at Folk Fest. It's the best weekend of the summer!

6. I'm off to Edmonton this afternoon. I'm meeting up with an old work friend for dinner and then tomorrow I'm running a 10K: the Moose is Loose! Should be interesting considering I haven't ran more than 4.3K in a very long time!

7. Found the coconut liberte yogurt. Oh my FREAKING God is it good! This morning I had a 'nana, yogurt and 1/2TBSP of Chia seeds. Yummy.

8. Gotta run. Meeting the girls at the stairs before coffee. I should put contacts in and clothes on!

I must have horseshoes

up my ass today--I was able to get a massage appointment! I called at 7:30 (knowing full well that they didn't open till 10) and left a pitiful sounding message. It worked! I got the only appointment she had left this week. But I had to wait till noon. As I was leaving, somebody said, "Enjoy your massage." Um, if you fall asleep during a massage, you're paying someone to rub your back for an hour. I do so much deep breathing to relax through the pain of having knots crunched and elbows hitting pressure points I didn't know I had, it's not even funny. It feels fabulous afterwards, but during isn't very much fun.

Sue (my fabulous RMT) worked her magic and I have regained some range of motion. Not all, and not pain free yet, but MUCH, MUCH better. I'm currently icing it and she gave me a list of stretches to do to. She said I could do boot camp if I felt up to it, but no upper body. So we'll see how I feel in a couple of hours.

I think a nap is in order! Or should I go buy a lottery ticket?...

OUCH!

OK, not sure if I did something at the driving range on Sunday, or what, but my neck has been sore ever since. And it's getting worse, not better. OUCH!

Thankfully, I won't be busy at work today, so I can call and (fingers crossed) get in for a massage, and go home early to rest.

I'm actually going to walk to work today because I don't think I can turn my head quickly enough to ride my bike in traffic. Which means I need to shut down the computer, brush my teeth, set out the recycling and get going!

Have a super day!

H =)

Week 3 Challenge: Clean Eating

So, how hard can this be, right? Hmpf! I eat clean most of the time, so I figured this would be a piece of cake (or bowl of fruit or something).

Started the day with oatmeal and chai:


Notice how the oatmeal almost boiled over in the microwave! I know they'd probably be better if I cooked 'em on the stove, but I don't function very well till I'm fed in the morning. Microwave it is.

Chai fixings are not 100% clean. I refuse to give it up, though. Mmmm...it's the nectar of the gods, I swear! (I despise the taste of coffee, even though I love how it smells. Chai, on the other hand, well, that's a whole different story!)



Oats contained:


Porridge oat blend by Rogers (I think it may only be available in Western Canada), honey (from Northern Alberta--best.honey.ever. It's all the alfalfa, I swear!), Almond butter, skim moo and half a frozen 'nana. I couldn't eat it all, so I've got brekkie made for tomorrow already!

Coffee break snack was fat free yogurt, frozen strawberries, and maple flakes.



Lunch consisted of leftovers (again): grilled veggies, pork chop, potatoes and tzatziki (all ingredients are pronouncable, I swear. Got it at Costco. Super yummy).

Oh, and cherries, too!




Pre boot camp snack was this gorgeous Pink Lady!


Post boot camp (while supper was cookin') was hummus and fresh carrots (from the market, of course!)


Dinner was some frozen turkey meatloaf (recipe from Clean Eating, not very visually appealing but very tasty) and leftover spuds and veggies. I roasted 'em in my Pampered Chef pan so they got all crispy. Mmmm. Added a dollop of tzatziki for good measure.


Oh yeah, there was also the peanut butter cookie that Nicole brought to work today. I meant to save it for tomorrow, but it smelled so good! I broke. And the chai's not 100% clean either, but again, it's moderation, right?!

Gotta run, my boy's here to watch Harry Potter so we're all caught up for Thursday night when we go see the new flick!

Dodged the bullet

Have I mentioned how happy I am that I quit my old job? Check out this article about how the government is now trying to prevent health care workers from speaking out.

Maybe it's just me, but don't we have something called freedom of speech in this country?

H =)

Grrrr!

Weight Watchers of Alberta pisses me off. They're closing my meeting location (the second time this has happened to me), and they're making it more difficult and farther to go to see my fabulous leader, Faye. She doesn't get the Saturday morning meeting and I'm a morning WI girl. Grrr.

So I write the big wigs in Edmonton a letter voicing my concerns. I get drivel in return. So I write another letter, since they obviously missed the point in my first email. I pointed out that two transfers, over 30 minutes on transit plus walking time is not very convenient for me. In return, she emails me transit itineraries starting from the downtown location.

OK, maybe it's just me, but where the hell did she get the idea that I lived at their downtown location?! Dontchya think they would've noticed me?

*sigh*

I asked about feasibility studies of closing locations and opening new ones as well as tracking members that they lose when they close locations. I also asked how many members are required to start a new meeting. This was her response:

We take the matter of closing a meeting very seriously indeed, and do consider all the ramifications before doing so. I can’t say exactly how many members would be required, as we do not ask members to commit to attending for any specified period of time. As you know, there is no contract to sign, and members can quit at any time.

Is it just me, or is she telling me (as a WW employee) to quit??

H =)

Super Sunday

I slept in! OK, I slept in for me, probably most of you don't consider 0730h sleeping in!

Mom and I enjoyed a lovely cuppa on the balcony.

C. and I had an amazing 4.07k run around Stanley Park.

Weeded the garden and got rid of the stuff that the hail damaged (chard, spinach, kale, some of the lettuce).

Mom, the nephew, C., S. and I enjoyed the buffet at Moti Mahal. Mmmmm...naan bread.

S. and I hit the driving range. It's the first time I tried out my new clubs. We had a blast! I'm not sure how well I'll be able to move tomorrow, though.

Summer made another appearance today, so after the driving range we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream. It was the perfect ending!

I hung my Tibetan prayer flags that A. & P. brought back from Nepal for me. I'm hoping that they bring peace and goodwill to my home and also to the f*$&ing squirrel that's ruined my flowers.

Made a fabulous dinner:

On the menu tonight:
-pork chop marinated in Epicure souvlaki, EVOO and lemon juice
-grilled veggies (aubergine, courgette and red and yellow peppers) marinated in epicure Greek dressing
-red leaf lettuce, fresh from my garden!
-tomato from Gull Valley Greenhouse at the Farmer's Market
-lemon roasted potatoes from Habina's Harvest at the Farmer's Market
-topped it all off with some tzatziki

Catching up with my peeps in Weatherfield. Hope you had a happy weekend!

Weekly Challenges & Wrap-Up

So, Amy's weekly challenge was to take our workout outdoors. Done. See below. Then she added Wednesday's tricep workout. C. & I decided to combine the two and went a little photo happy. And I've I gotta say, Amy, I don't like your triceps! But yours and mine will be fine after this workout!!

Tricep Hell (FYI--tricep pushups aka chataranga are the reason I HATE sun salutations):




My outdoor gym:
Three Post Hill (named for the three white posts at the top of the hill)


Treadmill:


Boot camp stair master with added squat (Josh really likes these):


New stair master I discovered just off of Three Post Hill:



Entertainment at the gym (HGTV and rafting on the Elbow River):







Me & My Workout Buddy, C.


To end the day, my mom and I had tickets to see George Strait tonight at Stampede. *sigh* The man is old enough to be my father, but I don't care. He's my freebie! Loved, loved, LOVED him!!

And, I really, really, really wanted to have mini donuts (and had accounted for them in my daily plan) but the lineup was HUGE. So none for me! I know I'll be thankful later, but right now I'm still a little bitter.

I got a trip to the Farmer's Market, too, so really, who could ask for a better day? Oh yeah, down another pound! Survivor Bootcamp Kicks Butt--Yours! I also love Trainer Josh!

Finally Friday

Whew! Where did the week go?

I was rudely awakened at 0515h this morning by downstairs dude and his skanky ho. Oy vey. Good news is that he's apparently moving out, I'm just not sure when. It can't be soon enough for me! It was the ONE day this week I could sleep in. Arrgh!!

Grilled up some chicken before I went to work and made a yummy salad for lunch (sorry, no photo).
Spinach
Blueberries
Goat cheese
Tomato
Red Onion
Bird boob, marinated and grilled
Dressing: 1 TBSP tahini, 2 TBSP fat free plain yogurt, 1 TBSP Greek salad dressing seasoning mix, 1 tsp EVOO

I totally forgot the lemon that I planned on adding. It was good, but lemon would've made it better, I think!

Left work and C picked me up outside the door to head to boot camp. Josh started to take us up the EVIL, EVIL hill from last week, until I reminded him that he promised to take us on the Douglas Fir Trail. Since the sun finally decided to make an appearance, the shade of the trail was appealing to everyone. So off we went! It was fan-freaking-tastic! Did loads of running and my old heart was definitely working hard. Came back to the park to do more intervals. Finished off with some good ol' ab work and called it a night.

Dinner was up in the air...what to have, what to have?

Turned into:




What's in this delightful concoction, you ask?

Start by sauteeing 2 cloves of garlic and half a red onion in EVOO.

Add some zuke, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, the two tomatoes that were left on the counter looking lonely, capers, spinach and one of those chicken breasts I grilled this morning. Oh, at the last minute, add a bit of fresh basil and oregano. Add about a cup of cooked, whole wheat spaghetti and toss it all together. Top with a few shavings of Sylvan Star Extra Aged Grizzly Gouda.

Serve with a pint of H20 and a cold Big Rock Rock Creek cider. Mmmm, good!

Have I mentioned that I'm a good cooker?!

Just in time!

So my food intake today has been pretty random and not the healthiest choices.

Breakfast (0545h): Grande, non-fat chai, S'bucks sausage & egg sammie
Coffee (0845h): Grande, non-fat chai (don't judge, it was a rough morning), Activia yogurt and fresh strawberries
Lunch (1145h): Opa! Lamb souvlaki pita, Greek salad, calamari, diet Coke

Hmmm....I came home and decided to go for a bike ride to alleviate some of the damage (especially since I'm going out for dinner tonight, too!). So I hop on the bike and think, "Wow, those clouds don't look very nice." But I rode on. Not far into my route is a hill my friend (Lisa Q.) used to make me run for hill practice. Just so you know, it hurts just as much for cycling hill practice! But I did it.

I continued on my merry little way, thinking that I'd do the Sandy Beach Hill (around 4.5K away), turn around, do the evil hill again and call it a day. Well, just before I got to the base of Sandy Beach, the raindrops started to get closer together.

Now, I had my cell phone secured in a Ziploc TM bag to prevent water damage--that's what killed my last phone, but I'm still a little freaked out about the rain and the phone. So I turned around a little early and headed back. I seemed to be out-cycling the rain, so I did the evil hill again. Yep, that's right. TWO hills!! This is what the Garmin said:
8.81 km
745 cal
33:36 min
15.7 km/h
79% of max heart rate

I'll take that!

So I get inside and start to catch up on my blogs groovin' to the radio. Then I hear that there's a tornado warning for my city....and then the hail starts! I'm afraid to go look at my garden! It seems to have stopped now, though. WHEW!

Just for good measure, I'm going to throw in a few push ups and some abs. Trainer Josh will be impressed. Well, probably not, but I'll feel better!

Lazy Day

Seriously.

We got out of bed at 1130. Had brekkie. Watched Family Guy on the couch for a few hours. Went for a walk (foraging for food--wound up with a chai and BLT at Extreme Bean). Had a nap. Went for another walk (again, foraging for ice cream this time). Note to self: Tide-to-go pens do not remove chocolate peanut butter ice cream from white t-shirts. It also leaves a yellowish stain. Ewww.

I skipped boot camp to hang with my guy. I'm terrible, I know. Trainer Josh will make me pay on Thursday. I'm a big girl, I can take it!

Sunday Recap

Well, I've gotta hand it to my neighbour. He's got stamina! Yesterday morning, last night into the wee hours and again this morning. Definitely TMI about a guy I don't know though. Alas, when I returned tonight, I ran up to talk to my FABULOUS landlords who will take care of it for me. I love them!!

Dragged poor S to the picnic, even though he's still not 100%. I'm trying to convince him to go to a doctor. What is it about men and doctors?! Only got asked when I was getting married once (S was nowhere around, thank goodness!). Somehow managed to sprain my thumb, too. I think it was trying to set the volleyball. Note to self: you haven't played volleyball in a LONG time. It hurts. We also threw a football around which was fun.

OK, I'm off to catch up with my peeps in Weatherfield. Cheerio!

Saturday

Wow, three posts in one day!

Coffee with girls: excellent!

C & I then hit the open road. Destination: Banff, baby. Parked and walked up three VERY steep flights of stairs to the Rose and Crown's upstairs patio. I indulged in a pint of Strongbow and the bacon cheeseburger with fries. Mmmm...salt, malt vinegar and a deep fried potato. Who could ask for more? We beat the crowd and really, the burger rivaled mine in terms of fabulous-ness. It was THAT good!

Walked around downtown and down by the river. We also discovered the most lovely garden (which I'm counting on C posting pictures of 'cause I didn't take a camera). Then the gaggles of tourists and annoying poplar fuzz started to get on our nerves so we headed to Canmore.

Wandered down main street, poking our heads in and out of shops. I made a small purchase at the Rocky Mountain Soap Company (I'll do a product review later). We both just said "NO" to the candy shops and the yummy Canmore chocolate bars. Instead we opted for a diet coke. It's true: I wasn't really hungry for the ice cream, I was thirsty! Funny what happens when you listen to your body!

Came home, made a poster pointing the way to the family picnic tomorrow and now just heating up the last of the fajitas for me and S.

Hope you all had as great a day as I did!
H =)

Arrrrgh!

My downstairs neighbour has got himself a girlfriend. A LOUD one. Seriously, dude, if I can hear your stereo, chances are good that I can also hear you having sex. Arrrrgh! So much for sleeping in this morning!

15 Week Challenge--Week 1

Weigh In: Down 1.4 WHOO HOO! I'll take anything that's going down!

Weekly challenge: Done. My fajitas were yummy. I'm a good cooker! =P

Workout Wednesday: Done. My abs have yet to forgive me, but they will thank me one day!

I just got my ass kicked--

at Friday night boot camp!

Trainer Josh is gonna whip us into shape, that's for sure! The Friday edition is held in a much bigger park than the Tuesdays & Thursdays. This new park has big ass hills. We ran up the biggest one (some people more than once, not me, but by the end of six weeks!) then across to some stairs (not a nice flight of stairs like the ones we did on Thursday, or the ones we do on Saturdays though). Then we played Josh's new favourite game: how many times can you run up and down in four minutes? For the record: twice. THEN, we continued down the hill to the parking lot, where we turned around and did a three minute drill--up to the second curve and down. Repeat. Aye karumba! My legs were like Jell-o! And that was just the warm up. We followed with some legs and upper body stuff and twelve minutes of core. Stretching never felt so good!

S. is still not feeling 100%, so he's recuperating at home.

I've had a fajita from the other night and have been contemplating a beer. But tomorrow is WI, so I shall refrain! Tomorrow will be coffee with the girls (just me, C & C as E is off in Paris having a blast, I'm sure) then a FLAT hike. C (non-boot camping C) wanted to do the Crescent Heights stairs but after two straight days of hills/stairs, I need a break! Sunday is my dad's family picnic.

Calgary is currently engulfed in Stampede mania. I'm a country girl, don't get me wrong. I just don't think the gaggle of girls I saw standing on 12 ave wearing black boy shorts and silver chaps with the super short t-shirt embody the Western way of life as I know it. To add to all of this, I live only a few blocks away from the grounds. *sigh*

NO, you may NOT park in my parking spot.

PLEASE don't hoot and holler at all hours of the night. Just because YOU can go to work hung over tomorrow morning, does not mean that I want to be rudely awakened in the middle of the night.

Also, could someone please explain to me why the Stampede can set of fireworks EVERY night for 11 days in July at midnight, yet the Folk Fest has to be VERY quiet after 10 for 3 of 4 days (on the fourth we can stay up till 11)? You know us Folkies. We're known to be a rambunctious crowd!

Happy Friday!

Workout Wednesday

OMIGOD, Amy's workout rocks!

My abs were making their presence known after boot camp yesterday, so I could feel each and every move tonight.

Recipe makeover. Check.

Workout Wednesday. Check.

Journalling. Needs some work.

Game on!

Recipe Makeover

Since I usually use a recipe as a guide, I was struggling with Amy's first challenge. Rest assured, I think I've done it. I looked around my kitchen tonight and was trying to figure out what to have for dinner when it came to me: fajitas and a mojito.

First I whipped up batches of Epicure Fruit Salsa (can of diced no-salt tomatoes, fresh diced pineapple, diced peaches, and seasoning) and Epicure Guacamole (2 avocados, lime juice and seasoning).



Then I marinated some boneless, skinless chicken thighs in my new favourite marinade. I found this in the June issue of Runner's World.

1/3c soy sauce
1 TB lime juice
3 TBSP EVOO
1 tsp thyme
S & P to taste

After about an hour or so (I've also left it longer with fantastic results), I threw them on the grill with some red, orange and yellow peppers.





I grabbed some of these at Planet Organic last week:

Each tortilla has 150 calories, 3.5 grams of fat and 5 grams of fibre and 6 grams of protein.

So a tablespoon of guac, a chicken thigh shredded, a very thin slice of old cheddar, a big spoon of salsa and some pepper mixture (I also grilled some 'shrooms, zuke and red onion to add in) and VOILA:



Ahh, but I'm oh so thirsty on this Canada Day! I assembled the mojito fixings:


Lime, rimmer (darned Epicure, you'd think my friend sold the stuff or something!) muddler, fresh mint from the garden, agave nectar, ice and club soda (oops, forgot that!). If I wanted the leaded version, a shot of white rum goes in there, too. Rim the glass with a cut lime, then dip in the rimmer. Muddle the mint, add some lime juice and agave and muddle some more. Ice, soda and garnish with lime. Super refreshing!



And that, my friends, is a skinnied, local version of a Mexican dinner with a Cuban bevvie. Enjoy!