February Results

Well, considering how slow the weight loss is going, I’m OK with the results. I measured and took pictures this weekend and even if the scale only shows a 4.7lb loss since 01/01/10, I’ve done OK in other areas.

I’m down 5.75 inches in total body and most of that is in the waist/stomach area. It is noticeable in the pictures as well. You can see it in my back and waist the most (from the back side shot). I’m pleased enough with it for now but I do know I have a heck of a lot of improvement to work on for March.

I don’t think working out is going to be an issue anymore. I’m pretty confident I’ve gotten back into the “habit” now. What I may have to watch out is for overtraining. I’ve got some pretty big plans for exercising and I’ve got a 60mile walk to do in September so I’ve got to watch to make sure I don’t burn out.

Food wise, other than a few eating out sessions, I’ve generally been pretty good. I do still need to work on getting enough calories in as this will help me with the energy needed for exercising as much as I plan. I’ve really got to work on the weekends with not only eating enough, but eating the right stuff. The cheat days, never mind meals, have to stop in order for this to work successfully for me. I DO KNOW that I will be eating out, having some cheat meals, but it is the quantity that matters. I’ve got to keep it very limited.

Drinking beer is a part of my life and I know there are going to be some social events coming up that I need to plan for. I have a long service award banquet to go to for my work. It’s a big dinner/dance event. I also have three co-workers from Ontario coming here for a big project we are kicking off in a couple of weeks and I consider them my friends and I KNOW there will be one dinner out (which I can deal with fine) but there will also be one night out for beers. It’s kind of tradition when they come here to visit.  Another weekend we have a whole bunch of us getting together to play some games. When get with this group of friends, we all tend to have a good time. So I already know of three events in March that will include adult beverages but I must deal with them in limited quantities. If I can keep it to these events only and not indulge in our weekly “date” nights, then I will do well. I think as time goes on, it will become less and less a part of my life. It has already taken to the back burner considerably these past years.

Anyway, I’ve got big plans for March and I just have to focus and get the business done.

I hope every one had a great weekend!

Sandra

p.s., thanks for the comments on the pictures from last years summer holidays. I’m certainly missing the camping and can’t wait until we can go again.

More Pics

I know this is a weight loss blog but I thought I’d share some more fishing and scenery pictures. I tend to spend more time taking pictures than I do whatever it is I’m supposed to be doing. Sometimes that sucks because I miss action because I’m too busy trying to get the perfect picture.

One of our favourite places to fish is in the Mountains by Fernie, BC. Along this creek there runs a railway – it is a pretty busy track between Alberta and BC through the mountains.

 

This picture is a shot of a fish that Mr. Sandra was bringing in. I take a ton of quick pictures of each thing I’m focusing on and this one was a pretty clear picture of the size of the fish.

 

That’d be me with my little catch. I got more than just one but I don’t want to bore people with pictures of me catching a fish :)

 

 

Eventually I get bored or tired of fishing and start looking for things to take pictures of. I found this little bird that was not afraid of me and I followed it around for about 30 minutes taking pictures of it feeding. I could stand right over top of it and take pictures down at it and it never flew away.

Bath time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found this tree at one of the campsites we were staying at and had to take a picture of it.

 

 

 

And this one of many pictures I took of a little creek in a small town called Marysville, BC. It really is a set of falls and I’ve got a bunch of good shots of the falls but I’m not going to add anymore to this post.

I hope you enjoyed sharing my summer vacation (or part of it). I think have spring fever.

ttyl

Sandra

p.s., I am getting my Photo Blog ready so you won’t have to view all the pictures I want to share on this blog. I’ll let you know when I start posting to it.

P10 Wk8 Update

Well it’s that time again for the weekly Perfect 10 Update

·         Log my Food

o   I didn’t do so good on this during the weekend but I did the other 5 days. Monday to Friday is easy, Saturday/Sunday I tend to bounce around the house or out gallivanting around so I don’t easily log everything. I’m getting very good at knowing what to eat though and how much. Which means my eating is boring because I’m eating the same things all the time J

·         Lose 10 lbs

o   Well, I’m 6lbs down and unless I can lose 4lbs in the next 2 weeks, I am not going to make this one. But I am going to try.

·         Exercise min 5x week   

o   Yup, made this one. Did 3 Yoga Sessions and 3 Walking sessions but I didn’t do any ST this week and really need to get my muscles burning this weekend.

·         Schedule 1 Cheat day   

o   Trying to make this Cheat Meal instead of an entire day, but on the weekend, we had Chinese Food for dinner on Friday night then I had it for leftovers again on Sunday. That’s two fatty salt laden meals on the weekend. Then when we went out Wednesday to watch the local hockey game with our friends, I ended up having some Nachos for dinner. The bar attached to the arena had Chicken Fingers with Fries and Nachos for meal choices. Mr. Sandra picked Nachos so I ate Nachos. And Yeah, I did end up having a glass of beer while we watched the Canada/Russia game before our scheduled local hockey game. Man that was an action packed game.

·         Complete 1 “Modified” 7-day Total Cleanse

o   I am cancelling this one as I don’t want to do a cleanse right now. I really think my metabolism is kicking into gear and I don’t want to add more confusion to my body by restricting calories which would happen in a cleanse. Once I’m under control better, I may incorporate this into my lifestyle.

All in All , I don’t feel like I had a good week, I know there is tons of room for improvement.  I only walked and did Yoga and although both are great exercises, I really need to pick up on the Strength training.

Now for something you don’t know about me:  hmmmm…. You know this is getting very difficult to come up with. I’ve been an open book on this thing J

Growing up I lived in a pretty small town. As a kid, it was hard to get away with anything because EVERYONE knew you. I was never a girly girl, I was pretty much a little tomboy. I would leave my house in the mornings and never show up again until dinner time (or unless hungry before that). I was always out in the fields capturing salamanders, garden snakes, gophers, rabbits (or trying to), or any other type of animal that I thought was cute. Brought a bunch of geese chicks home once – that didn’t go over well with my parents. My dad ended up taking them to the high school where the older kids raised them, taught them to fly and let them migrate in the fall. I learned a lesson from that experience because I didn’t know how to take care of them before I brought them home and from that time forward I made sure I thought these types of things through a little better…. Other than every kitten I found – those were free for the taking as far as I was concerned.

I would go the neighboring farms and ride their horses (sometimes they knew, sometimes they didn’t). I’d make forts in all kinds of abandoned buildings.
I think if my parents knew half of what I did in that town, they would have locked me in. I wasn’t afraid of anything (except spiders) and dogs.

Then when I was 11, we moved to the bid city. I’ve never been the same since J

ttyl
Sandra

Slow Walkin....

Wow I slept good last night, it was so refreshing after my recent sleeps.  I pre-planned to not get up until 5:00a as I was going to walk at lunch time instead. I showered and then decided to put some Steel Cut Oats on to cook in my Rice Cooker. I had read somewhere that this was possible and a good idea so I tried it. Normally I cook it in the microwave at work and it takes forever because I have to cook it at a low power so that it doesn’t boil all over the inside of the oven – very messy to clean up and a pain. I juiced my Wheatgrass and then my Veggies, fed the dog and brushed out my freakin long wet hair,  and the oatmeal  was done before I knew it. So once it cooled enough, I put 2/3c in containers, gathered up my egg whites and turkey bacon and took it to work for my breakfast. I was much more satisfied this morning than I was with my protein/fruit/almond milk/Yogurt shake from yesterday. No munchies today and that is such a good feeling.

My Hot Yoga session yesterday was a bit disappointing after having such a great session the day before. On Monday, I reached some personal bests in some of the poses and I was so happy about it. I just felt great. Well yesterday, I hadn’t even gotten to the third pose and I was starting to struggle. I couldn’t keep my balance, I was having a hard time staying focused. I was sweating up a storm and it kept running in my eyes. I was feeling bummed about it, and then about half way through the floor session, I felt like I got a burst of energy. It was really strange so I did end up finishing strong.

When I got home, I had a “packaged” protein shake and my daughter asked me if we could go for a walk, so not wanting to pass the opportunity to get her out training, we bundled up, grabbed the dog, and set out for an hour walk (ended up being only 50 minutes). So I didn’t make it to Zumba L… but her pace is improving and she kept up with me much better. On Sunday our average was 2.7mi per hour which is pretty slow for me, and yesterday we averaged 3.0. I know we walked anywhere between 2.5 and 3.6 as I kept asking her to check my Garmin to see what our current speed was. I wear my Polar HR monitor (which I forgot to turn on…sheesh) and she wore the Garmin – hard to wear two big bulky watches. My Garmin does have a HR strap but I like to wear my Polar when I am doing cardio as it tracks me weekly.

I did make it out for a walk at lunch – along with half of the downtown workers. This particular path can be quite busy at lunch time. I’ve decided that I should not make any more comments that my daughter is a slow walker because her Mom isn’t all that much faster. I walked between 3.4-3.7 and people were passing me. Ladies that were shorter than me for crying out loud. I wasn’t giving it my all because I was wearing my work clothes and didn’t want to get all sweaty but sheesh… I too need to learn to speed up. I know because of my hip and range of flexor motion, that is why I can’t walk fast, but I better get it stretched and trained before September. Walking 100 Km in 3 days will not equal race walking but rather endurance, but it would be a good idea to work on my speed as part of my training.

Tonight, we are meeting friends for drinks (I haven’t decided what I’m doing here yet) and then going to a hockey game. I haven’t had any adult beverages for a while now and not sure if I want to tonight. After the weekend visiting with the kids, drinking beer (not that I drank a lot of beer), not eating completely on plan, AND  I have not been feeling all that good -  between it all, I’ve been messed up physically and emotionally. I was so ecstatic when I saw a 7 in the numbers on my scale that Friday, and then the visiting weekend happened, along with a cold, run down feeling, and that number has  not appeared since. However, I suspect that it will be back again on Friday and I really don’t want to jeopardize that at all. My mindset has been changing lately and I’ve finally realized that these once a week sessions are not helping me at all and are slowing my progress down big time (I’ve finally seen the light – took me long enough). I haven’t been taking this seriously enough.

If I’m going to train like an athlete, I need to eat like an athlete and there is no room for empty calories in this journey.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day, and make good choices.

Ttyl

Sandra

How To Lick a Bowl

"Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened"

I received this in an email yesterday and just had to share it. Hope you enjoy (even though this is very unhealthy for that little pup, he is so cute).

Growlies

Dear Friends,

It is one of those days again when I “feel” hungry all freakin day long. I truly think it is because of my morning breakfast shakes.  I’m no longer using the prepackaged stuff – even though it was very healthy and all ingredients were natural, it is expensive to keep ordering it. So I’ve decided to make my own in the morning and I am sure that extra fruit is spiking something and I’m hungry within an hour or two of drinking it. I’ve eaten almonds or pistachios’ to try to up the fat content as usually that staves off the hunger. For lunch I had a reasonable filling meal which truly, my tummy does feel full, not uncomfortable, just full and I still “feel” hungry. I’m on my 4^th litre of water today already so I know I’m not thirsty. If I drink anymore, I’ll be water logged.

Mind you, I am going to go to Yoga again this afternoon and do need to keep filling up on that good for you clear liquid. So I’ll have probably another 2 litres in the next hour and half before I leave.

I’m bored at work, I’m reading up on and testing Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and all its new technologies, and I can only read so much before I want to have a nap or a snack.

How do you handle boredom? Am I the only one that seems to have this “feeling” when I get bored?

If I was at home, I’d be finding something crunchy to be eating on. Fortunately for me, all I have here is apples, pears, almonds, and yogurt. Sugar sugar sugar (well except the almonds).

On to a positive note – I reached some personal bests yesterday in Yoga. I was able to get into a few more poses even deeper. It makes me giddy in the class – as dumb as that sounds in that type of heat – but I was HAPPY! And even last night when I got home and had something to eat, I wasn’t as tired as I normally am. I’m going again today because I have to miss tomorrow as we are taking friends to a hockey game. And I want to go to tonight’s Zumba class but will see how I feel after Yoga. There is about an hour and half in between and if I go home and veg in anyway, I’ll get tired and want to just go to bed early. Happens…..

I hope everyone has a fantastic day.

Ttyl

Sandra

Weekends = Bad Logging

Hello blog land, I hope everyone had a great weekend. I finally got my house cleaned up and got lots of exercising in. I’m so tired by the end of the day and tomorrow I will go back to my 8 hour day sitting in front of my computer and stiffen up like I’m 90 years old. My co-workers laugh at me as it takes me about 10 steps to get in a complete upright position. I need to stretch out all the kinks.

I went to Hot Yoga on Saturday morning and got myself into some of the poses a little bit farther. It gets better each time I go. But the nice thing about it is that for 90 minutes, I do not feel stuffed up from this cold. And as for the cold, it did not turn into anything major – just a bit stuffy and that’s about it. My body did a good job fighting the worst part of it. Mr. Sandra is still hacking and coughing.

After Yoga, I came home, and did my normal, on my feet for the rest of the day cleaning and cooking. By the end of the night, I was pretty tired.

Today, I went out walking with my daughter. I picked a hilly area, where it would challenge her a bit and I think that was unfair of me really. She is a very slow walker and is not in shape yet, and I had her walk up and down some hills. We slowed right down and walked her pace but I think she is going to be sore tomorrow. We talked quite a bit on what she needs to do to increase strength in her knees and legs but I would really like to hear everyone else’s suggestions on how one strengthens your knees.

I got her signed up on dailymile too so she can see how far she walks by the time we are done all this training.

My food choices have sucked lately, I’ve eaten sushi, Vietnamese, and had Chinese food. Can you say “salt” “water retention” & “fatty”?? I have not logged my food since Friday either. I’m getting bored with it and need to get my fingers back into Fitday and keep logging my weekend foods. I’m great during the week, but man I’m horrible on the weekend.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful week and make good choices!!

ttyl

Sandra

Here are a couple more pictures from the summer river float we did along the St. Mary’s River in Kimberley, BC.

I loved how this hillside looked and took a couple pictures of it.

 

 

 

 

 

There was a name for this particular grove in the hillside but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was. This was situated on an Indian Reserve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather that day was very strange. It would be sunny one minute and then the next a storm would come towards us. But we never did get rain. I just got a lot of pictures of clouds.

Perfect 10 Wk7

It is that time again to give our Perfect 10 update. Steve has motivated us so much along our journey's and since the tragic loss of his father last week, it has been impressive how much love he got back from the blogging community. We, You, I really do care about the people we can call our friends online even though we haven't personally met.

So here is my update for week 7:

• Log my Food
• I didn’t do so good Fri-Mon of this past week because the food was all over the place and so was I. I spent the 4 days doing stuff away from home and just didn’t log when I got home. Was visiting or watching the Olympics instead.
• Lose 10 lbs
• Well I weighed in pretty good last Friday and I didn’t weigh in this morning because I know it won’t be a pretty thing. I can tell my tummy is bloated and I just didn’t want to face that today. I’ll weigh and measure tomorrow and update my side bar.
• Exercise min 5x week
• I thought I wasn’t going to make this one but I went through my journal and I did exercise exactly 5 days so I did OK. I didn’t exercise as much as I wanted to but I still was active.
• Schedule 1 (ONE) Cheat day
• Last weekend with guests, I didn’t eat too bad but I’m sure that Korean BBQ meal was higher in calories that I should have had. But I had NO idea how to log any of it anyway.
• Complete 1 "Modified" 7-day Total Cleanse
• I’ve decided I am not going to do this at this time because I don’t think it would be good for my body. I’m just getting it used to burning away the fat and I’ve had a messed up metabolism so don’t want to mess with that any more.

Now for something you don’t know about me (this is getting really hard to come up with something interesting):

Well maybe some of you do know this but if you are new to my blog then you don’t. J

I am an avid fly fisherwomen. I learned about 5 years ago and can almost out fish, and out cast my teacher (almost). Mr .Sandra doesn’t like it much but he is also proud of me at the same time. I love the feeling of walking in the river with my waders and boots and just casting out. Even if I don’t catch anything, just walking along the streams in the mountains or wherever, it is such a peaceful feeling. We don’t keep the fish, but release everything.  Last year we did a drift trip for 8 hours down a river and I have to admit I spent more time trying to take pictures of the Eagles than I did fishing but the trip was still fantastic. I hope to do it again this summer.


I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!


Ttyl
Sandra

New Schedule, Losing the Battle

Helen hit it right on the head yesterday when she mentioned cabin fever. If I remember back to this time last year, I felt the same way. However in the past, we have always planned a tropical holiday for about right now and this year we decided not to. I’m likely craving the beaches and warmth right about now. It explains the feeling of boredom.

 Work is slow as well as we are waiting for a very large project to start up and in the mean time, I am "learning" all I can about this particular technology. Spending hours on the internet learning an application can be very boring.

I never did go to Yoga yesterday – and talk about disappointed. Since I now have my own wheels, I’ve been driving downtown here to work and my co-worker who attends Yoga with me once in awhile also drives downtown. So on Tuesday we both agreed we were going to Yoga yesterday so I didn’t drive (why bring two vehicles). And then at 3:10 I went to her office and she wasn’t available due to some technical issue she was working on. Well by then it was too late for me to catch the train and walk to the studio. So I missed out and it put me in a pretty foul mood. Not that I can get foul but if I could, that’s how I felt J

Yesterday was a write off in my books.

And when I woke up today, it is obvious that my body is losing its war against this cold. The cold seems to be winning L

Now on to better things….

On Monday, I met with my new personal trainer at GoodLifeFitness and we arranged to meet 2x a week for the next 6 months and we are going to focus on strengthening my hips, core, endurance (for the Kidney March) and just generally build my strength up overall. She is rather junior at the gym but I like her personality and I feel comfortable with her. There is one personal trainer there who I would definitely not ever want. His arms are so big he looks funny in my eyes. He is just plain scary looking. Anyway, once I get going with her I guess I will have to stop doing the NRoL4W until I am done with the sessions with her. I don’t want to over train so need to work with what I have scheduled. This is what it is going to be my schedule starting March 1^st:

Monday, Weds, Fri

                4:30a     Treadmill intervals
                4:00p     Hot Yoga
Tuesday              
                4:30a     Treadmill walk
                6:00p     60 min PT Session
                7:30p     60 min Zumba
Thursday            
                4:30a     Treadmill walk
                4:30p     60 min PT Session
Saturday
                Home ST session
                Walk outdoors as far and as long as possible.
Sunday
                OFF

This week I have failed pretty good in the exercise department because of how I have been feeling (and company on the weekend) so I won’t be making my P10 goal of working out 5x per week. There are going to be these types of weeks every once in awhile and I just need to not feel guilty or upset about it.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day.

Ttyl

Sandra

Wednesday Blues...

My head doesn’t seem to be in the right place lately. I’m actually feeling quite blue these last couple of days.

Mr. Sandra came down with a cold on Thursday and was miserable all weekend, even when we had company. Fortunately the company was his oldest son so he was quite used to his Dad and his ways.  But I have been feeling like my body is fighting very hard to not catch this cold. And because of that, I feel a bit run down and worn out. I kind of ache all over and have a heck of a headache but that is more due to our weather than anything. I had another biofeedback session yesterday and it confirms everything I feel. My immune system is working in overload mode trying to fight off this cold so she worked on helping me boost it. Strep throat also showed up so I need to keep an eye out for that. I’ve noticed a slight discomfort in my throat but figured it was more me fighting the cold than an actual bacteria. I’m going with the cold theory rather than the Strep throat version. OH the joys of not feeling quite yourself.

I think the fact that I did not eat on plan on the weekend AND I only juiced my Wheatgrass two days, and veggies only once, did not help me in anyway. Thank goodness I made it to two sessions of Yoga as that has helped my hip and my achy feelings. I did not do the Zumba class last night because I’ve also been experiencing some discomfort in my hip from Friday’s walk.  Zumba requires a lot of hip action and I didn’t want to push it. How am I going to walk 60 miles if I am in pain after walking 5 miles?? I guess lots of strength training and lots of walking in the next 6 months is how I am going to accomplish that task. So last night rather than do the class, I took Kate (dog) and my daughter out for a walk. We only did about 30 minutes worth but it was enough to get out there and get some action going. I had gotten up at 4 and did a NRoL4W session so I had already done my days worth. Speaking of NRoL4W – this is the start of week 4 and I’ve gone up in weights each week. I can feel I am getting stronger. Between that and Yoga, my back is much stronger than it has been in quite a few years.

I didn’t walk this morning, not sure why as I laid there discussing it with myself for about an hour before I actually got up. I think one side of the brain says ”get lazy butt up”, other side says “you are fighting something – rest” So rest I did. I’m going to Yoga this afternoon so I’ll be getting  a good session in today anyway. Tomorrow, I’m doing another NRoL4W and I think we are going out for date night after work. We have the boy this weekend so no “cheat” time then, which is a really good thing for me right now.

I’ve had some pretty positive NSV lately, one came from S-Son – first time he saw me on Thursday he commented on how my shape has changed (he saw me last at Christmas)and today in the lunch room one of my co-workers – and a male to boot – said I was looking very good. You don’t get that very much from the men in a work place because I think they are afraid they will come across as not appropriate but this particular co-worker is European and he says whatever he wants to without thinking first. He is a very very nice guy and can be quite funny. So when he said what he said, I know he means it. However, I’m feeling funky enough today that it didn’t seem to perk me up at all.

Oh blah…. J

And the one thing I have taken note of today, I "feel" hungrier than normal. It is what happens when I feel down and I want chips. I truly am craving salty crunchy potatoe chips or popcorn. Good thing I am at work because all I have here is healthy stuff - talk about emotional eating syndrome.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic day! I know I will feel better after yoga.

Ttyl

Sandra

Weekend Update & Happy Valentines Everyone

I have been having a very nice weekend for a change but way too much stuff I shouldn’t be having. The s-Son and his girlfriend are from out of town and we don’t get to see them much and love being with them. The GF is from Osaka Japan and has been here since last June. He went there for a year, and now she is here for a year. They are now engaged and hoping to get married in Hawaii some time tine this year to save her family some dignity (not having the wedding in Canada or Japan is important). She is really nice and I know he loves her to death… they make a very cute couple. She weighs … maybe …barely 100 lbs and he is well over 200.

So when they got here on Thursday we went out for wings and a beer. I didn’t have any wings, chose my chicken salad with dressing on the side, but I did have the beer. Then on Friday morning (I had the day off), Katie and I went for a very long walk. We left the house at 9 and got back at 10:30. I have a Polar F11 which has a GPS and can track where I am and how fast/far I have gone, however it has been some time since I last used it so it was dead so I just left and started walking. I walked, and walked and walked, and thought I would end up in one place, but ended up in another. I absolutely have NO sense of direction. I believe I got lost in my own neighbourhood. DUH!! but I made it home and based on how fast I know I walk and the time, I estimated I walked 5.25 Miles. My legs were tired and stiff afterwards. I’ve got a LOT of practising to do before I can do 20 miles, three days in a row for the Kidney March.

Then we went shopping and I bought a new outer shell for my walks. Something that is warmer than my summer jackets (it is still mid winter here) but not as heavy as my winter jacket. My fleece is cool if there is a breeze and this new one keeps moisture and wind out. So I should stay warm on my walks.

Saturday I took Hirome to Hot Yoga with me. She has been practising Yoga where they live, and really wanted to try the Hot Yoga. She did pretty good and is very flexible but like it does to everyone, the heat knocks you out the first time so she did sit out quite a few of the poses. Plus she still has to hear English spoken fairly slowly and clearly and the instructors are pretty fast, so she just mimicked what she saw. She said it is a real workout compared to the Yoga she has been doing lately. :)

Then for dinner we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant. Wow, what tasty food that is. You BBQ your own food right there in the middle of your own table. Each dish had flavour. I ate way too much.

I didn’t think about taking out my little camera until we were almost done.

Today we are going downtown to China Town to watch the Dragon & Lion dance demonstration they have scheduled for noon and since I have scheduled today off of exercising, I’ll just be walking around all day. And we are planning to just hang and eat at home tonight. The S-son is a chef by nature so I know it will be a very good meal.

I didn’t have time to do my NRoL4W workout yesterday, can’t get it in today and have a session with the personal trainer and Yoga scheduled for tomorrow so I think I will reschedule this week to fit it in and just start a couple days late on my 4th week. I can’t believe I’ve already done 3 weeks worth. Each week I have increased the weights so I know I am getting stronger.

I wish everyone a very Happy Valentines and love the ones you are with.

Have a fantastic day!

Sandra

Perfect 10 Wk 6 – Repeat

I learned something yesterday. I use Windows Live Writer at home to post to my blog so I copied my last week update so that I could follow the same format but just change the words. Well it copied alright, post comments and all. So I am going to post it again because I have no idea what’s up with it. And my week 5 is now missing and I guess I just messed up... :)

Sorry if you have already read this:

It’s that time of the week again where I need to do an update for the Perfect 10 challenge.  I’m not sure how many of you read Steve’s blog but his father passed away yesterday and is stuck in Washington away from his family. They could all use our prayers right now.
Log my Food
Again I logged all the good, bad and the ugly this week.  I did pretty good on food all week. I’ve been adding a bit more protein in so that is slowly getting my calories more towards the 1700.
Lose 10 lbs
And it must be working because I SAW A 7 this morning on the scale. I weighed in at 179.8 Yahoo!! So that puts me right on schedule for losing the 10lbs.
Exercise min 5x week
This is not an issue – I’ve exercised every day except Sunday and on some days twice. So I think I’m starting to rock it in this area.
Schedule 1 (ONE) Cheat day
Had the kids on the weekend so I was pretty well on course then so after we picked up the new car on Monday, we went out to celebrate and I had a couple of beers. Unfortunately, I also had a couple last night as well as we had family come into town for the weekend and we went out for games and dinner. This entire weekend will be a challenge for me as we are going out for BBQ Korean tonight, going to the Chinese New  Year parade tomorrow, who knows for dinner, and then on Valentines on Sunday the guys are planning something. I will do my best.
Complete 1 "Modified" 7-day Total Cleanse
I am really not sure when I am going to be able to do this. I need to take some time off of work to do it right and it doesn’t look good for February. And with all the exercising I am doing, the last thing I really need right now is a cleanse. I may have to rethink this one.
For the something you don’t know about me:
This is getting harder each week because I seem to be an open book on this blog :)

Well as boring as this is, I secretly want to be a photographer. I purchased a new camera before we left for Costa Rica last year  - a Nikon D90 and I had no idea how to use it properly until the very last day of our holiday when we were sitting by the pool. A man and his wife were also hanging out and I noticed he had a Nikon but a much better one (now mine is nothing to laugh at either) so I asked to show me how to use it. Turns out he was a professional photographer and he spent the next 2 hours showing me how to use it. I had great pictures after that. So in the last year, I have taken quite a few but want to get out into nature and take a bunch more. I’ve slowly learned how to use it over the last year and the pictures are getting better and better. One day I am going to open another blog just for the pictures I take.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day.
ttyl
Sandra

Perfect 10 Wk6

It’s that time of the week again where I need to do an update for the Perfect 10 challenge.  I’m not sure how many of you read Steve’s blog but his father passed away yesterday and is stuck in Washington away from his family. They could all use our prayers right now.
Log my Food
Again I logged all the good, bad and the ugly this week.  I did pretty good on food all week. I’ve been adding a bit more protein in so that is slowly getting my calories more towards the 1700.
Lose 10 lbs
And it must be working because I SAW A 7 this morning on the scale. I weighed in at 179.8 Yahoo!! So that puts me right on schedule for losing the 10lbs.
Exercise min 5x week
This is not an issue – I’ve exercised every day except Sunday and on some days twice. So I think I’m starting to rock it in this area.
Schedule 1 (ONE) Cheat day
Had the kids on the weekend so I was pretty well on course then so after we picked up the new car on Monday, we went out to celebrate and I had a couple of beers. Unfortunately, I also had a couple last night as well as we had family come into town for the weekend and we went out for games and dinner. This entire weekend will be a challenge for me as we are going out for BBQ Korean tonight, going to the Chinese New  Year parade tomorrow, who knows for dinner, and then on Valentines on Sunday the guys are planning something. I will do my best.
Complete 1 "Modified" 7-day Total Cleanse
I am really not sure when I am going to be able to do this. I need to take some time off of work to do it right and it doesn’t look good for February. And with all the exercising I am doing, the last thing I really need right now is a cleanse. I may have to rethink this one.
For the something you don’t know about me:
This is getting harder each week because I seem to be an open book on this blog :)
Well as boring as this is, I secretly want to be a photographer. I purchased a new camera before we left for Costa Rica last year  - a Nikon D90 and I had no idea how to use it properly until the very last day of our holiday when we were sitting by the pool. A man and his wife were also hanging out and I noticed he had a Nikon but a much better one (now mine is nothing to laugh at either) so I asked to show me how to use it. Turns out he was a professional photographer and he spent the next 2 hours showing me how to use it. I had great pictures after that. So in the last year, I have taken quite a few but want to get out into nature and take a bunch more. I’ve slowly learned how to use it over the last year and the pictures are getting better and better. One day I am going to open another blog just for the pictures I take.
I hope everyone has a fantastic day.
ttyl
Sandra

PT Session and other stuff

I made it finally to Hot Yoga and it sure was hot. I could definitely tell that I did not feel 100%. I just did not have very much energy and it was more of an effort to stay in the poses last night. Between the lack of energy and the heat, I was just about cooked afterwards. But I am so glad I went…. I slept like a baby last night.

Then from there I went to the gym for my first meeting with a PT to discuss this introduction package that wasn’t what I wanted in the first place. Within 15 minutes of talking to me she said “you don’t need this, you already know quite a bit”… yup, that’s what I said…. So we did do a LOT of chatting and she did write a bunch of stuff down. I taught her some stuff too J So today she was going to talk to the administration staff and see how we could re-package the deal so that I get some real personal training sessions. We meet again on Monday so hopefully it will be the start of a good relationship. She is just a young lady but I liked her instantly and she came across very personable – that is important to me. While I was waiting for her to start our meeting, since I was just done with Yoga, I actually sat in one of their massage chairs and just watched the people. You certainly see all kinds of different people working out and all differently. It was actually quite nice to see. There certainly was a LOT of muscle walking around too!

I’m taking tomorrow off of work as we have family coming to town tomorrow for the weekend and since Monday is a holiday for us, I thought I’d make it a really nice long weekend. I’m hoping to get in some RnR but with visitors you just never know. Could be busier and more social that I want it to be. I’m determined to make it through with the right choices though.

Every once in awhile, I lose a follower and it sure makes me wonder if it is something I’ve written that they no longer like (that’s the insecure part of me) or if they’ve just dropped off because of something technical. I remember when I was scared when I had two followers way back when I started blogging and yesterday I had 55 lovely people and was so proud of that fact. Simply amazing what a year of blogging and meeting so many nice folks online does to your ego J Anyway, I wanted to thank all of you for reading my “stuff” and for commenting. It really does mean a whole lot to me.

I hope you all have a fantastic day and make good choices.

Ttyl

Sandra

p.s., I missed my one year blogging anniversary - sheesh. I've been on here since Feb 2, 2009. Wow how fast the time goes.

Marching...

Oh I feel much better today. Must have just needed a night off to relax and get to bed early. And that’s exactly what I did. Got up this morning and did my 30 minute treadmill session and walked my 2.25 miles. First 20 minutes is usually interval and then I just walk off the rest of it. Of course I did my stretching afterwards – I must never forget my stretching. This morning I noticed that I can stretch my right hip a little bit more each time. Still can’t push it as it hurts but what a difference attending Hot Yoga has made for me.  And I’m going again tonight – it’s been a week since I last went and I’m going to sweat buckets tonight J

When I signed up at the gym, I purchased what I thought was 3 Personal Training introduction sessions. What I thought were going to be kind of a “here is a routine you can follow” kind of thing and when they called me the other day to set up the appointments, what she described and what I thought I paid for are two different things. According to the lady that arranged the appointment, these sessions are an introduction to the GYM itself – how to use the cardio and weight equipment. Beginner stuff for folks that have never exercised. I told her on the phone that I was not at all interested in that because I already know how to use all that stuff and I’ve been exercising for years. I may not look like it, but I have the knowledge. So when I meet up with the trainer tonight, I am going to have to explain to her that this was not what I needed, nor wanted, and that I need to make arrangements with the gym for a refund of my money or put it towards real personal training sessions. It will be interesting how that goes. I’m scheduled in after my Hot Yoga session so she will get to meet me all red faced and sweaty J

I have been thinking about this since I heard about it and today I registered for it. In September 2010 for three days I am (along with hundreds of others) going to walk 100 kilometers in the Kidney March.  I will be fundraising for the Kidney Foundation of Canada and  have a goal of raising $2500 for my participation in the walk. I have asked my daughter if she wants to join me in this and she is game but I’ve had to stress how much walking this really is. She currently is pretty out of shape and overweight (mostly because she is out of shape) and does not walk very fast at all. When she gets on the treadmill she walks at about 2mi/hr and she is going to have to pick up that speed considerably for us to make it 20+ miles per day. She hasn’t signed up yet, but I’ve noticed she has been walking on the treadmill lately. Either way, I’ll get her in shape. It would be nice to share this with her but if in the end she decides she doesn’t want to do it, I will have the opportunity to meet a lot of new people.

All our needs will be provided for. They provide all the food, water, snacks along the route and if you are in any kind of trouble, they will drive you to the next stop or camping location.

The camp location will be filled with blue tents, mobile kitchens, mobile showers, potty facilities, massage and chiropractic care, a general store and a stage for entertainment and talks in the evening. This camp will be set up two nights.

I am looking forward to it and intimidated by the challenge as well. I have to be able to walk that 20 miles a day and in a hilly environment. The route goes through our beautiful Kanaskis country which is a gateway to the Rocky Mountains. I think I will be going through a couple pairs of shoes just for the training, never mind the walk itself. Wish me luck – mind you, this will not be last you hear of this I am sure. J

Well that’s enough for today, I hope all of you are having a fantastic day and are making good choices.

Ttyl
Sandra

Bleh and Missing Paperwork

Good afternoon my lovely bloggers. I hope everyone is having a great day.

I’m finding myself out of sorts today and not sure what is going on. I’ve got a nagging pain in my right side, right at my waist. Sometimes it feels like it is more towards the back, others it feels more upfront. So whether it is my Kidney or my intestines – I just can’t tell. I’ve felt a bit nauseous on and off since yesterday but nothing really major – just waves here and there. And headache! Man it’s a major one today. Our weather is changing (getting warmer) so I know that is what is causing the headache but you put all three together and I just feel bleh! I’m having that argument with myself – do I go to Hot Yoga cause I’ve not gone since last Wednesday – do I go to Zumba because it is Tuesday night and it’s my night to dance. Or do I just go home and take it easy tonight and hope that I feel better tomorrow. I did get up at 4 and did a NRoL4W session so I’ve got some exercising in today already.  Oh decisions, decisions….

So last night at the dealership, when I walked into the business managers office, the first thing I asked her was if she received the insurance paperwork from my company. There was just something that was knocking me on the head telling me something was wrong and sure enough, she hadn’t received it yet. And since we were there after 5:00 p.m., of course the office was closed. So they couldn’t verify that I had insurance. Talk about bummed because I was so excited about driving away with my new truck. Well the dealership came to the rescue and suggested that I use one of their plates overnight and get all my paperwork straightened out today. It was very nice of them to do that, and I was very grateful.

So today, I left several messages with my agent and she just never called me back, so just before noon, I asked to be passed through to someone else. I explained my issue, turns out my agent is off today, and so they went to her desk and found all my paperwork but not in a complete state. They said it was unusual for this agent to leave things in this state so I’m hoping that when she comes back in the office tomorrow she will give me a call to explain what happened.  Today things are good as the agent I talked to at noon, got everything finished off and faxed to the dealership. I’m on my way there after work to get the plates swapped.

I’m just glad it all worked out – I love my new truck.

And you know what – I think I have a slight fever so I think it’s best I just go home, have a nice bowl of soup, have a bath and go to bed early. Tomorrow is another day to go to Yoga and Dance my butt off.

Ttyl

Sandra

Weekend Update & Independence

I just had 4 days off of work and did not get much of a chance to read very many blogs – I am so behind. So if you haven’t seen a comment from me lately, I’m sorry – I’m trying to catch up but there’s a lot of action going on out there and I’m missing some of it.

I spent all of Thursday with Ron while he waited for appointments. He needed a driver and had two appointments – one in early a.m., and one later in the day so I had an entire day of waiting around. Fortunately I knew this ahead of time so worked out on my third NRoL4w workout first thing in the morning.  I did not eat all that well because we ended waiting longer than normal for these appointments. I brought a bar and apple with me but still didn’t eat every 3 hours like I would have liked. I did not log everything either that day but I know I was on the low side of calories.

Friday I wasn’t able to get to Yoga in the afternoon, so again in the morning I made sure that I got some interval training in first thing in the morning. The afternoon was spent picking up children from their various schools or homes. Ron’s youngest had an incident last week where it was important that he was picked up from the office so that his father could talk to the school about the incident… Let’s just say the boy was in deep trouble. So after talking to the counselor, our strategy of “bad” cop and “good” cop theory went down the drain. We had a new plan of action to try over the weekend. Then from there we picked up my Grandson. I love that little man. Each time I see him he is more grown up and says the coolest things. Since we had a bit of discipline issues to deal with the older boy, mostly talks, the weekend wasn’t as relaxing as I wanted it to be. There seemed to always be a tension in the air and I didn’t like it much.

Saturday I did my Wk 2 NRoL4W Workout B and upped the weights. I’ve finished reading the book and now know a bit more of what I should be doing. Week 1 really wasn’t done correctly but close enough. I want to read the book again as there was some theories in there that I found interesting and want to look more into. I think they will be good blog topics as I could use other folks opinions on some of what I took from the book.

One of the things I really need to work on is eating enough food on the weekends. I have to start treating Saturday and Sunday like it is a week day and eat every three hours like I do weekdays. I get messed up because I exercise at different times on the weekend. And I spend too much time moving from one object to another and forget to eat. And for some reason, this weekend I didn’t drink enough water. Sunday I did no exercising at all and was it ever hard. I was sore from my ST workout on Saturday so all I wanted to do was walk on the treadmill but I also knew my body needed a break of sorts. I spent the morning cleaning, then found a book and sat by my fireplace and read while the kids watched a movie. It was a nice day (sort of). The sort of is because Mr. Sandra woke up moody and when he is moody, I can “feel” it and it throws me off. Makes me not want to be around him so I hung with the kids downstairs. I am one of those people that is like  a sponge and I can take on other peoples mood physically (I know – sounds weird).  I don’t like negative people because of that, they don’t make me feel good, their vibes rub me wrong. They don’t even have to talk, I can just feel it.

Through various blog posts of mine, I have mentioned that I do not have a vehicle. When I left my Ex, he kept the vehicle we shared because he bought a house close to where our acreage was and I was moving back to the city. It was easier for me to take the bus and train to work so it made more sense. I was all about making the split as easy as possible so I let it go.

When I met Ron, he had his own truck as well as a very big GMC Yukon. I drove that for quite a few years but the steering was becoming defective and it showed up in the winter the most. To me it was unsafe as you don’t want to mess with your steering when in icy road conditions. So about 2 years ago I parked it in our back yard and haven’t driven my own vehicle since. I used my daughters, Ron’s or got taxied around for the last two years.

So on Friday, I bought my own vehicle and can now do all the classes at Good Life Fitness that I want at whatever club I want because I no longer have to depend on someone’s vehicle being available or getting a ride there and back.  I had to make sure that I could financially afford it because if, and this is just an IF, Ron and I do not last long term, I needed to be able to afford it, my mortgage and other debts all on my own wage. Buying this truck is going to make it pretty thin but it can be done.  I pick it up tonight at 5:00 p.m., I feel like a little kid in a candy store – I’m so excited.

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and an even better week. I’m going to be driving myself around to a few Zumba, Body Jam or Body Pump classes (along with the Hot Yoga).

Ttyl

Sandra

Composting 101

Foodie Girl asked if I would post some pictures of my composting efforts.  So here is how it was put together.

• I got one small garbage can and one larger storage bin.
• We drilled holes all around both bins about 2” apart and the holes were smaller down towards the bottom of the bins.
• Placed broken up Wheatgrass mats on the bottom followed by my juice pulp.
• Dumped a bunch of worms in the first bin.

I keep the white one upstairs beside my garbage can and when it gets about 3/4 full, I dump it into the black bin. I keep it downstairs in my storage room. I do have to dig most of the worms back out again to put them in the white one but I leave a ton of them in the black bin. Like I mentioned yesterday, I need about 2000 more worms to handle the amount of pulp I go through daily.



I did not post any pictures of worms as I want Helen to come back to visit my site

J

The compost takes about 3 months to completely process but I keep adding to the black bin from the white bin so I think it may take a bit longer. I almost need a third, non-worm bin to just let it sit but I don’t have the room right now. I have an outdoor bin and I may add some of this to it in the spring to get it moving. It’s not easy stirring those outdoor ones as they are quite a bit bigger.

I hope I didn’t gross anyone out.

Have a fantastic day, I’m having fun with my Grandson this weekend.

Sandra

Zumba, BioFeedBack & more Guilt

Well that was fun.

This is just a site I found for Canada but there are tons of YouTube video’s out there that show this stuff. I can’t connect to YouTube from work or I would have linked one of them. But you can see some of the dances here.

I went to the gym last night and because I got there about 30 minutes early, I decided to check out some of the cardio equipment. Even though I have a ton of stuff at home, it is always good to get my butt moving on something new. Since I wasn’t sure how I was going to be in the ZUMBA class, I did not push my 20 minutes of pre-warm-up Cardio. I hopped on an Air Walker (picture on right) as I thought it looked kind of cool. And I was right, definitely smooth and was good for my hips. I could increase the height of my stride and the higher I went the better stretch and range of motion I got in my hip. Then I hopped off of it and went on a normal elliptical machine for another 10 minutes. There all kinds of different ellipticals and I’m going to have to try them all to see what works the best. The other benefit of working out in a gym is all the activity going on and all the different people :) Nicer than looking at my four walls.

At 7:30 the step class ended and  the Zumba class started. There were only about 20 people in the studio and it is quite large so there was plenty of room. Huge big fans blowing so you definitely kept cool enough. Lots of mirrors so you could watch yourself either look good or make a fool of yourself. We had a warm-up session with one trainer – I think she is in training and I found her a bit hard to follow but fortunately the regular instructor was in front of me and I just followed her. Then when she got on, it seem easier because she would say “Right, Left” because since they were facing you rather than facing the wall, sometimes it got a bit confusing. I definitely enjoyed it as it is a ton of dance moves  and I just LOVE to dance – that’s pretty much all it is - dancing. And almost all of it involves the hips. I was swinging my hips around like I knew what I was doing. I can see if I continue to do this, my hips will be loosened and strengthened up in no time. I did trip over my feet a couple of times because you definitely need non-grip shoes. The ones I had, although flat enough, and with what I thought was no grip, were brand new and still had too much grip. I think I’m going to go look for a cheap pair of dance type runners kind of like this Nike pair. Something that feels like a second skin to my bare feet.

I wore my HR monitor and in that 60 minutes, I burned around 700 calories. Because of all the leg and arm movement, you can easily get your HR up and warm your body. It is very much an interval training. I am going back for sure.

Now the unfortunate part is that I didn’t get home until 9:00p and was wide awake and all pumped up. At 10:30 I finally turned off the light but it took me some time to fall asleep – which is not normal for me. And therefore, I didn’t get up this morning at 4 to get on the treadmill and just waited until 5 to get up. I worked out for 2 hours yesterday so really, I had my cardio last night rather than this morning. I may forgo my Wednesday morning interval treadmill session because I’m up so late the night before doing the Zumba. It’s all about balance you know and right now my sleep is very important to me.

And I am definitely going to get my butt on this thing – the people that were working out on them were sweating up a storm and really looked wiped.

I had another BioFeedback session yesterday and I am certainly showing up like a new person lately. My levels are all very good, all my minerals, vitamins etc. She said it is like looking at a different person. My body is asking to lose weight – this is a good thing, and I’m telling it to go right ahead – what is it waiting for ?? J  But the one thing that keeps coming up is Guilt. I am still trying to figure out what that guilt is. Way back in October I blogged about my guilty feelings about being angry at my father for passing away (there was a bunch of other stuff too). I felt so much better after getting that all out, but my biofeedback yesterday brought it up again but with more focus on something from childhood. It's still related to what she found in October - the L2 (Childhood, Guilt, Anger) This time I think it is about my own children. And I think know what it is about. So since this post is long enough, I am going to post on that tomorrow once I have had a chance to think it all through a bit more.

I hope everyone has a fantastic  day and makes good choices.

Ttyl

Sandra

Look Out February...

Sometimes when I decide to do something I kind of do it with the head down bum up kind of attitude. I just want to get right at it and get it done. I’m a bit spontaneous (just dive right in) but I also suffer from a control issue of having to have things planned out and organized. On Friday my massage terrorist was telling me about a gym she goes to and about all the classes she takes. One of which was ZUMBA and something I am very interested in taking. A couple of months ago, I spent some time on You Tube and watched some of the clips on there and it looked like a fun thing to do. Since I have a gym in my basement, I’ve never really wanted to join any club. Why pay for something I have full access to already.

But what did I do on Sunday??? I joined Good Life Fitness so that I CAN attend those classes. The membership is good at any of the locations and all I have to do is get the schedules and see which one is held where and when. Then I just have to organize it all as I’m not taking any time away from my Hot Yoga as I really feel it is important that I continue with it and I do really like it. My other issue is getting to these classes as I still don’t have a car and have to rely on public transportation. But if I want something bad enough, I’ll find a way and R is more than willing to drive me wherever I want to go.  I just don’t like to ask him all the time.

So I can just see what’s going to happen, because I’m like this, I’ll spend the next month going to as many classes as I can, continuing with my Hot Yoga and starting the NRoL4W program. And I will wear myself out in the process J Yup, that’s me. Head down, bum up.

I figure as long as I’m getting such good sleep as I have been, eating my 1700+ calories a day, increasing the protein again,  and taking 1 day off a week, I should be just fine. I’m going to get into this exercise habit if it kills me (which it just might).

I have done 14 Bikram Hot Yoga classes. That’s pretty good for me and yesterday since it was the first of the month, I signed up for unlimited Monthly access. In the end it is cheaper to do it that way and if I go more than 3x a week, then all is good. I am not finding the classes so tiring anymore, I have much more energy afterwards than I did the first two weeks. The heat is more bearable, in fact, I hardly notice it other than my body is freakin slippery, and my sweat runs into my eyes. J Still have to make sure I wipe all that mascara off before class or I look pretty funny with black streaks running down my face. Might have to think about using the waterproof stuff.  I think with increasing my other activities, especially weight lifting, it is going to be important for me to continue to attend as many Yoga sessions as I can as they are definitely increasing my flexibility and as I grow/strengthen my muscles, this is very very important for me. In the past, stretching wasn’t such a big part of my strength training and it did a lot of harm to my flexibility. As I get older, this becomes more important. Stretch people, always always stretch. 

So my schedule so far is:

MWF: a.m., Interval Treadmill, p.m., Hot Yoga

T: a.m. NRoL4W p.m. Zumba

Th: a.m. NRoL4W p.m. Body Pump (this might be too much because the Pump class is with weights as well)

Sa: NRoL4W and maybe an additional Hot Yoga class or a Body Pump Class.

Su: OFF, not going to do a thing, nope you can’t make me.

I’m at least going to try to do the above for a week or two and then will adjust as I determine what my body can deal with. I’m am pretty healthy, just 40lbs overweight, and I guess I’ll add getting older in there too but I am going to give this my best. Wish me luck!

I hope all of you have a fantastic day and make good choices.

Xxoo

Sandra