Wii Fit - pre-order available!

I just ordered mine from the Toys'R'Us Canadian website!! Release date is official for May 19/08 for a price of $89.99.  Ok - it's April 5th right now and the official nintendo site said it was to be in stores on May 21st?  I sure hope there are not many more delays....

I am just a little excited here and my DH is laughing at me. lol

Back to routine...

My son came home yesterday! Yeah!  Getting back in to routine was not as bad as I thought it was going to go.  I did have a bit of a hard time getting him up this am but I think that one is pretty normal for anyone right after holidays. :)  As he was making his eggs this morning he did get upset though because he said that his real dad would not let him cook at all while he was there because his dad did not want him to scratch the stove.  My ex said that it is a fancy stove (just a flat top) and that it was not for kids to cook on.  My son told him that he was very good at cooking and my ex replied by asking what has he all cooked and my son replied what he had.  My ex told him well that was all beginner stuff and that's not cooking!  Arrrg!  You don't say that to a kid!!!  My son is very proud of what he is able to cook and I am too.  I have taught my son to be safe around the stove and he is very careful.  My son is just starting out... there is nothing worse than someone telling you that you are not doing well enough.  So I guess all of us when we start something are not good enough then and should stop.  Boy... If I had listened to that advice I would not be the person I am today being able to do the things I can.   I guess my son asked also where the clear lids were and my ex told him you don't need clear lids to cook.  OK fine, pt taken but when you are a kid just starting out, it is a good thing to have so they see what is going on under the lid.  BTW - my ex was not the greatest of cooks.  lol Rant over. :)

Today I am for SURE taking my new bike out for a small spin.  It is rest day today but I SO want to try it out again!!! lol  I am so happy that the weather is finally going to warm up a bit here this week and stop being so stubbornly cold. :)Scratch that. :( It's snowing outside!!!!  Arrrrrggggg!

Food wise I am going to be doing some planning here and a trip to the grocery store for some things.

Homework wise I need to keep cracking down on myself and get moving.  

I am still not smoking and I am so loving the feeling.  I sure hope that I can maintain it this time.  It is sad because it seems like right now I am looking for something to sabotage it.

and the total is...

... 128.0 lbs!!!!  How did this happen?  I do not know but I sure am not complaining this week.  :)  I just love the little message that you get if you go over a 2 lb loss though in the ww weight tracker thing. lol I like how it says to make sure that you are eating all your APs and WPs.  lol  That's all I did this week!  :)  I have never ate more food during this whole time that I have been on ww this time and the time before.  I am so happy right now and I can see a great run coming this am, if it wasn't for the cold...

I will be back after my run...

I'm baaaaacccck! lol Gotta love that runner's high. :)  Well about an 1hr and 42 mins later... we finished doing a nice respectable slow but faster than we have pace today.  The one girl was there and here legs were better so we went just a little faster, but not too fast.  She was having some lower back pains so we worked on breathing techniques and running posture.  I am not the best at this but I am working on it continually to improve.  So when I would do my posture checks during our run, I would remind her to do hers.  It was so funny because it was like a light bulb moment for her near the end of the run when she finally 'got it'! :)  She's was like "OMG! I finally see what you are talking about.  It makes a huge difference in effort and I don't feel as much pain!" lol  I just love it when a new runner makes a break through with something. :)  I am so happy for her.

Well I just finished stretching and enjoying my chocolate milk and now I am going to ice for a bit then take a shower.  Then I get to enjoy the profit from all my hard work this am (11 APs earned).... Dim Sum! lol  I am sooooo looking forward to it right now. :)

Yesterday I was going through all my running clothes and such seeing how everything was for fit and such.  I came to the conclusion that I am going to need some new things here.  So I went and looked around and came back home with a sportskirt.  I have heard of them, and have seen them the very odd time here in toon town but never really thought I would like them.  I tried them on and they are comfortable!  And CUTE!!!!  I never thought I would wear something like that before. :)  And when I went to try them on... I grabbed a size L first, then had to go to the size M, and then went to try on size S!!!!  You have to keep in mind though that these are stretchy fabrics. :)  But the waist was gaping... so I have a size S!!! Woooo Hoooo!  I have alway bought size L or XL in the past! :)  So that was the only thing that I bought and I am going to try to hold off for any more new things until my weight is more closer to what my body wants as a goal.  My husband completely agrees now that I need new clothes as yesterday he was laughing at me in my pants again.  He said that he thinks it is about time for some new things.  I told him to just hold off for a bit till my body says it is quit time.

Still no smoking!!!! Yeah for me!  It is getting quite easier though but I have found my self lately purposely smelling other people's smokes!  Weird I know especially when I hate the smell of the stuff even when I still smoked.

Exercise today - done, food - Dim Sum and who knows at this pt (but other will be core healthy), and some cleaning and homework.

run: 14.61km/1:42:31, avg 167 bpm 7:01 min/km, with running room group, temp -13 when started with windshield of -18, felt warmer out and only wore windpro jacket with thin liner (2 layers), the sun felt so good and was really soothing and warm, no pains and ran in my New Balance, I had turkey bacon, 1 egg, and 2 ww dry toast for breakfast (I ran out of oats) this carried me through for a good long time and no stomach problems eating 1 hr before.  A good run today as my pace was quicker.

Quit Smoking:

Funny British/slapstick movie...

My DH and I went to see this movie last night and we both enjoyed it.  It has a bit of fowl language in it so just a pre-warning incase you may be offended.  Although it makes fun of many running cliches, and not really realistic to train for a marathon in that short of time, it had a good moral to the story.  My DH and I had a good talk afterwards about things like hitting the wall and other such running issues that I think my DH is looking at what I have done in the past differently (better) and is more interested in my running now. Who would have thunk it that this comedy would have brought on all that?  lol  It was a mindless funny show though that I will actually buy when it is released on DVD for my feel good/funny/motivational running movies.

Yesterday I had a great ride on my stationary bike and increased the resistance a couple of times for some intervals.  My wt session also went well and I am really focusing on making sure that I am getting a total body work out so I am balanced more in my strength.  Today is a rest day for me and I will just be getting in some leisurely walking in at the GardenScape Show here.  I am so excited to go and get some new ideas.  :)  I am working on trying to have a more 'green' habitat out there with the composting, rain water collection, and solar lighting.  I sure hope they have some new things that I can take advantage of at some pt.  I have a dream to have a house one day on solar power and water reservoirs under the drive way and such... but it sucks that so much money is needed first to be able to do these things... It kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me...  Low income families would have cheaper utilities if all the houses were more eco friendly...

Tomorrow is official ww wi day so watching sodium and drinking lots of water.  I have no more flex left from earlier this week :), and no APs will be earned so today I think may be on the tougher side.  That is the one thing that I really like about core though... I do feel I am quite satisfied on less than I ate before which makes me think in the end that it will not be as bad as I originally thought.

My DS comes home tomorrow and I am so excited.  It is always so hard for me when he is gone to his dad's.  He gets the typical spoiled time all in a short period of time and then wonders why he can't have/do these things here.  I keep reminding him that he only sees him a little spurts maybe 5 times a yr so yes, it seems like a lot.  I simply ask him in about a years time what have I done... It is really disheartening though because my ex really flaunts the money around and when my DS called me the other day... he's like hi mom, I am talking to the Lexus!  So... my ex bought another luxury car... Well at least he did not threaten my son this time like when he was told not to not tell me about the beemer...  Who cares.  Am I hurt? Realistically... yes.  But just because it seems that my ex is trying to buy my DS's love and attention.  No amount of money in the world would ever bring me back to wanting this man and my son will soon figure things out on how his dad really is.

Well, thanks to the cold weather, I was not able to take my new bike out for a spin yet and today is looking the same.  It is sunny today but still cold.  We are supposed to have a bit of snow yet again...  Not much... but just enough to say... enough already! Bring on Spring!!!! :)

April Fool's Challenge begins...

... with an awesome start!  I shocked even myself with this one. :) I stepped on the scale this am for my start wt and low and behold it registered 128.6!!!! OMG!  I am so doing a happy dance right now... lol That's 12.6 lbs away from the original ww wt goal (haven't decided yet officially) and 2 lbs away from a total of 20 lbs lost!  Wooo Hoooo!  I am not about to repeat the eating wk that I had for that (Easter was way to much food) but I must be doing something right.  I ran about 26 km this week in total and I am sticking to my training regime outline for mileage and workouts so I do not overtrain, but Yeesh!  I will take that thank you as a start wt for the challenge and let's just see what happens on Sun morning with my official ww wi...  I am not expecting much now.

So this am I am going to go for breakfast with my Nanny and some of the family.  This is the first time she has been out since her surgery.  The restaurant is well used to adapting our orders for the ww members in the family. :)  So it should be a good breakie. 

I bought a new bike!!!!!  As my last bike I bought in 1993 and it was a good high quality one back then (upper range) and it has lasted me through the years of road and off road use.  Last year the years seemed to catch up to it and I new I had to start keeping an eye out for a new one.  I priced out some last year and they were too much out of my student budget and new I had to wait.  Yesterday I went to a different local bike shop here where I originally bought my other bike and took a few for a test drive.  I found one that just fit like a glove... :) and half the price of what I was looking at last year!  Bikes have sure changed throughout the years so there is a couple of things like the new shifting (I had rapid fires before) but these are different ones.  The breaks are disk ones so no more fighting with the Y-brakes!  Front and back tires are quick release and I have adjustable shocks. :)  It is a cute 14" frame and blue in color.  My husband was a bit mad at me as he says why can't I just have bought one from Zellers, Walmart, or Canadian Tire which would have been cheaper.  Yes I could have.  BUT... I used to buy those before I went to a good quality one and the difference to me was huge.  I need one to last and handle everything that I want it to do for me and the comfort is well worth it. :)  See, last year I was so fed up with the traffic here and I was really frustrated and did not want to drive anymore.  Sitting around in a car for 3 hrs with no bathroom and running out of snacks and water drove me over the edge one day (unexpected traffic jam that shut off one side of the city from the other and the stink from all the vehicles made me sick).  I decided then that I wanted to try to bike or bus it when ever I could instead.  So I did.  In the winter I have have been using my university bus pass most of the time and now that the streets are clearing up... its bike time!!!  So there is my new big purchase for myself.  I figure that I deserve it because it would not take long to add up the amount of cigs it would take to pay for it.  :)

Well it is cross training on the stationary bike and wts for me today.  Then a quick tour on the new bike.

Still a non-smoker!  I will have to continue this after breakie as I just realized I am going to be late! :)

Sbike: 60 mins

wts: 30 mins

A good day so far...

I sneaked a peak at my scale and was totally surprised!  It showed in the 120's!  Now that is a sight I have not seen (officially) in a looonnnnngggg time. :)  Tomorrow is the beginning of the April Fool's Day challenge and I am hoping that it will stick.  I am finding it quite hard to believe though with all the junk stuff I ate and such high pts at the beginning of the week.  I usually do have a higher pts then but not THAT much or that high.  Sunday alone was over 50 pts!  My FP's are gone as of Tues, and I have just been eating my DPs and APs.  I am trying to sort this in my head is that I either completely shocked my body and put it in super metabolism mode, that I may need more food than what I have been eating, that the guy from 'I Can Make You Thin' on TV has a pt about eating what you want (in moderation)  :), or who knows?  I have been increasing my weekly mileage and being strict with my training so that may have something to do with it and not overtraining.  There are a few factor involved in this so it really makes me wonder.  The other thing is, is that I thought things would really start to slow down here because I was thinking that my body would be leveling itself out because it should be telling me here soon that I am close to a goal of sorts.  The other thing that I think it may be telling me is that my original goal is not too far off from what it should be.  I have gone back to eating core after my little spurt of high pts and it is still hard, but I am going to continue to struggle through it.

Suki is still around, very weak right now but still snugly... I had her out on my shoulder around the house yesterday while I was watching some TV downstairs.  I am so going to miss her if this is her time...  

Today I have some hill repeats that I am going to do.  I was going to do them on the TM but I may head out and drive to the river and do them their.  There is a couple of  really good hills here by Broadway and another couple on the other side of the city by Lawson.  I will probably choose the closest. :)

Last night, the running room group did 5 km instead of 6 that I thought they were going to do.  So I did it and had to really push myself last night though.  The 2 girls did not go so I went faster which was good but started off to fast... My Garmin was giving me wonky readings and I could not tell until it was too late.  So, I still did a great time!  The cold wind was horrible though and it sure felt like it was the beginning of winter all over again out there.  It smelled like it. :)  After the run, a few of us went out to starbucks and decided we should do this more often.  It was fun getting to know more people and all there stories.  A good chunk of us gave the running a reason for there wt loss.  It was also good to hear about some of the mistakes we all made when we first started out.  It made me feel more human and not so embarrassed about mine. :)  I guess we all learn from our mistakes!  :)  Slow and steady is the key, especially when first starting out.

Food wise, I have been a good girl again in this area as stated above. I got myself back on track and I am avoiding chocolate at all costs right now... except my after run chocolate milk of course. :)  OH!  I found Nesquik chocolate syrup with less sugar in the store yesterday!  This is great because I can mix it with my skim milk and it is cheaper and better in pts. :) I have found that the lowest pt chocolate milk so far is the Dairyland brand but it is hard to find.  The other Lucern and Beatrice are higher.  So, it was a great find for me. :)  My body after my run's is thanking me too.

I am still not smoking!  And yes, I really have to update the bottom of my post. :)

run: hills x 5, outside, temp -8 and sunny, 9.44km/1:20:35, avg 165 bpm 8:32min/km, very slow pace as I was doing the hills in the middle, 3k warmup and 3k cooldown, I took the hills easy at the same exertion as I felt running on the flats, since I have been running my hills before on the treadmill my knees took not as highly to the downhill running, I stretched, iced and took ibuprofen, I will have to remember to take extra glucosamine for my joints, I wore too much clothing as I thought it would be colder out. (3 layers) It was a steady run with no walking breaks and only stopped 2x for some stretching.  Yeah!  A PB for me in how long I lasted running straight for me!

Quit Smoking:

I totally forgot...

... to post!!!! lol  I can't believe I forgot.  It has been such a routine for me to do it in the morning...

Well to sum up the last couple of days what has been happening is that I have completely overindulged in chocolate!!!  Super high pts...  Yesterday was the first day that I managed to get things back on track again. *whew*  So I am quite curious on what is going to happen on wi.  There is going to be another wi challenge for April and I am in.  I have to decide again what will be my goal and how  many APs I will earn.  I surpassed my last expectations last time for the March one but I know things are going to slow down here at some pt....

I am having a bit of a dilemma at the moment.  See, the running room group that I run with on Wed and Sun have voted that they want to do their hill training on Thurs instead of the usual Wed, which I am used to doing the Wed.  I have done the Thurs hills last week on my own and come Sun... I can tell that it was just a bit too close for comfort for me and the hills are going to get harder here... So... I really do not want to give up running with my new running friends but I do not want to suffer in my long runs.  I am going to give it one more shot here and if it causes any grief what so ever on Sun, I will do the hills myself on Wed and Thurs I will run the tempo run by myself.  :(  That leaves me only with Sundays to run with them.  :(  :( *pouting* But I have to do what is best for me and consider that if I push myself too hard and at the wrong times, I will get injured.  The other thing is that the couple of girls that I have been helping me out are really showing signs of struggling and it is all 'overuse' type of signs.  I really think they should stick to the 'program' and stretch out there runs as much as they can. ie - Wed. instead.  The instructor this year is a bit of a teenage 'twit' that cares more about partying than anything else and is telling them to push as hard as they can all the time.  I am really trying to keep my mouth shut here but these girls are going to injure themselves.  I do not want to over rule him and I want them to go to him for advice not me!  I don't know what to do...

Well last night I watched 'The Mist' on dvd.  I read the book before and thought it was good.  The movie was OK but not the best, the ending though was a tragedy and I was impressed by that.  I won't give it away... 

I am going to buy a new leash for my dogs.  It is nice enough now to take one of them out when I run outside.  My oldest, Cleo used to run with my friend and I all the time and just loved it.  Last year I started training Tala to run with my but she was still at the too hyper stage and would zig zag all over.  I generally use the gentle leaders with all three when I take them for walks and have no problem.  I used it with Tala last year to work with her then also.  So, this could be the year that I get her going as I am quite sure that running will be right up her ally! :)

On the sad news... my rat, Suki, is not doing too well again here.  When she tries to jump, she just falls down.  :(  I don't have the heart to put her down right now as it does not look like she is in any pain, and is still responsive to me when I call her.  I know in rat years it is about that time but I am not ready for this.  For those who do not like pet rats... I understand and you do not have to read this, but I have owned all types of small critters and the pet rats have been the best.  They bond, respond to you, know their name, warm, fuzzy, cute... they do not try to run away from you like most others... As far as I am concerned, they are the best pet for a kid that want a small rodent because they are easier to hold and take care of.  You can't take your hamster outside and go places... I heard that in some places that rats are illegal to own (Alberta?)  A shame.

Well, I am still smoke free!  I will update the day # here as soon as I figure it out.  I know I should have this off the top of my head but I feel like I focus on smoking too much then.  I will edit later....

Cheers!

run: steady 5.04km/32:42 mins, avg 6:28km/min, it was on the colder side and wished that I wore more. (2 layers), I started out too fast as I realized too late because I was getting wonky readings from my Garmin (we started beside the buildings) so I had to stop and walk 2x, went for coffee after with a couple members of the group

Happy Easter!!!

So, was the Easter Bunny good to you this year?  He was to me!  My DS and I have had a great time this weekend doing what he wanted.  Now that things are winding down, I am in the middle of doing laundry so that I can pack his close for his trip this week.

I just finished downing my McD's of a McRib and med fries with a diet coke... all in all the McRib was not so worth it but the fries sure were!!!! :)  Yesterday I did stay within my pts but it really was not that much core.  Today so far the only thing that has been core was my breakie.  *giggle* Oh... those little Lindt chocolate eggs... ate them too.  Don't know how many and don't care today.  I just finished running 12 km and being Easter with just my son around... I let myself go. :)  It was well worth it and I know that I still have a 1 pt left of my daily pts - I think and my flex.  (the little eggs confused me)  But... If I eat well tonight and just stick with my eat out Tuesday... This week should be a good one still.  I know I can get back on track again.

Well.... drum roll please.... I am down to 130.8 lbs! and a whopping 18.5 inches!  Ya Hooooooo!  It was really funny yesterday because I was trying to find a pair of pants to wear and they all looked terrible!!!  I only have 2 pairs of jeans at this moment that I can wear in public. :)  Those 120's are looking mighty fine close at this pt.  The last time I thought I was this wt was back in 2004!  I am really not too sure at this pt because the scale I had been using was out.  By using this new scale and the way the clothes are fitting me... I think I am skinnier.  :)  So I know that when I hit my goal wt before 2004... I really did put wt right back on.  Not this time though!  I will not let myself get past 130 lbs again.  My goal wt is set for really low rt now but I am waiting to see where things taper off more and that should give me a good indication of where I should be now in this time of my life.  I still can't get over the pants though because 3 yrs ago I bought these one pair of pants one summer and today they look extremely baggy... I sure let that wt come back on....

Well today's run went super well.  It was a bit on the slower side again as I was helping with pacing with 2 other girls.  They have a bit of a problem going out too fast at the start and then almost keel over with being so tired.  The distance today was really hard for one of them...  The other was a bit stronger though so at the last half km of the distance I let the other go in stronger and I stayed back and only pushed the one a bit hard coming in.  They are doing quite well though.  My new shoes worked out great!  I am so happy that I went yesterday and got them.

The rest of today is rest besides getting my DS ready to go and then it is all alone time for me for 24 hrs till my DH comes home....  Gee... what am I going to do with myself!  :)

run: 12.02 km/1:28:29 mins, avg 164 bpm 7:22 mins/km, temp -5 small wind, outside and sunny, wore med layer with wind shell.  New Mizuno's worked great.

Quit Smoking: 1 month 11 days

One more sleep till the Easter Bunny!

lol  I remember having to count 'sleeps' with my son whenever he was really excited about things like x-mass, Easter, and Halloween.  This year is the first year that he isn't really excited about it.  In fact... he hasn't even brought it up yet!  *tear*  I am more excited about it than he is.  Oh... and my DH forgot about it.  Work and his computer are more important.  :(  So, I asked my DS what he wanted for Easter, so his reply was to go to the bookstore.  lol  My oh my how kids change and mature as they get older.  I am still waiting for myself to go through that cocoon.  lol

Well, besides the big bookstore, today I am going to go take a gander at some new running shoes as it seems that I have miscalculated the age and wear of mine. OOPS!  Might be a bit of the reason I am going back to nursing minor pains again... I just realized that I wrote about this yesterday... sorry.

Took a peek at the scale this am and I am excited if it stays..... I am soooo close to 130 and I am going to jump for joy if I hit it!  So today I am going to be very careful on what I eat and make SURE I drink my 3+ water for the day.  Tomorrow after my official wi though.... watch out chocolate!!!!  Oh... and McD's McRib is soooooooo calling my name!  I will be earning 9-10 APs just on my run tomorrow morning alone....  so I am debating with myself on if I should do it, how can I make it more pt/core friendly (hopeless on core... I know), or if I should feed my body the 'proper' foods.  lol  I have not heard of my extended family having a big supper or anything yet so it is just going to be my DS and I, so I may ask him what he would like to have for supper.  His choice and anything goes.  I am a sucker for kid related holidays... can't you tell yet?  lol

Today is an easy 30 min/about 4k run.  I am hoping to find a pair of runners before this so I can try them out on the treadmill and return if need be.  I won't be wearing the new one's on my long run because that would just be asking for trouble.  Blisters... no thanks!  :)

Well, I will update later how things went at the store.  I am also going to check out some more Easter cartoons and post a couple if worthy.  :)

run:

Quit Smoking: 1 month 10 days 

Some Easter cartoons.

Good Friday

A little late in posting today... I was a bit busy this am.  Austin and I just finished dropping off Jason at the airport with his work partner for some re-certification on some stuff.  Jay won't be home till Monday night now... And with Austin leaving Sunday night... I am going to be alone for 24 hrs!  Woooo Hoooo!  I wonder what kink of trouble I can get into... :)

Well today I went looking for some new runners and wanted to go to a different store other than the Running Room this time to get a second opinion on what shoes to get.  I know I need a stabilizer but the ones I have are not doing to well in keeping my rt foot under control.  I do not want to go to orthotics unless I absolutely HAVE to.  The other store here, Brainsport, has been in Saskatoon for years and are very knowledgeable, but I am always intimidated when I go there because it always seems that just the elite go there.  They are a little bit more expensive, but the knowledge is worth it.  So I got in my car all ready to go with my current running shoes on and low and behold... the store is closed today.  I was quite surprised because majority of the stores here are open, it is just the government, banks, and city ones that I understood were closed.  Oh well,  I can wait until tomorrow.  I just will not be able to wear them on my long run on Sunday.  Have to break them in first and make sure they are good ones for me.

Challenge wi today was a sts.  I was not too surprised as my exercise schedule is going to be hill workouts on the Thurs before Fridays now.  I was contemplating doing them on the Tues but then I have my speed run on Wed.  Decisions, decisions...  But on a good note, I have met my challenge goal and my AP goal.  Surpassed both!  :)

Well I have almost completed a full week of core now and I am still not too sure of what I am going to continue with.  I really like how I am feeling fuller and I do not have the cravings that I used to as much, but on the other hand, my eating schedule for the week is not quite suiting it.  I am having a hard time with that and making the right decisions food wise and I do not want the family to change our little traditions.  I once heard of someone referring to a combined mix of core and flex as flore.  This is where you eat a majority of core foods and count pts.  I must admit that I did continue to count my pts this week while attempting core and I found that I was forcing a little to eat my required amounts for pts with APs.  With switching to more core foods, I was fuller longer.  So, I am going to continue to count the pts and try to continue to be as core as possible and see where this takes me.

NSV today was putting on a pair of pants that I bought myself in Sept/07.  They look ridiculous!  lol.  No word of a lie... when I pull them away from my waist, there is a good 3 inches of a gap!  And these were nice, snug, and fitting when I bought them.  :)  I showed my husband and he just laughed at me and said I was melting away on him. :)  So that put me in a good mood today.

Today for exercise is some cross training, strengthening, and stretching.  We went out for our brunch at OPA and I was very good.  No pita bread, had the chicken, and had the ceasar dressing on the side.  :)  I am sure the chicken would be a bit high on the sodium and extra fat but I will be counting some extra pts for that.

A complaint on the weather here... I thought a temp of 1 should feel warmer than this!  It smells like we are going to have a major snowstorm here!!!  And the cold is just biting.   :(

I joined a new Canadian running group last weekend and I love it.  I was involved in the Mom's in Motion here last year but really did not feel that I fit in.  It seemed that everyone was more of a crowd that just had babies or young toddlers.  So I just did not see the 'fit.'  So this new group is called Running Mania and everyone just seems like a hoot and there are all abilities of runners there.  So I feel quite more at ease with them.  I just ordered some of their running maniac gear so I can run my half marathon here in maniac style.  :)  

cross training

strengthening

Quit Smoking 1 month 9 days

No School?

I thought my son had school today but found out last night that he did not.  I even put up the schedule in his classroom and the teacher did not say anything about it.  I am confused now as I was going to sub today... :(  Now I am getting phone calls for other schools.  I did not bring the phone to bed cause I thought ok I guess I am not working and here I have some messages.  Well I guess I am going to be booking myself off since my son is going to be home.  So, no paycheck this month... :(  :(

Last night's run went really well for me.  I am getting so close to running 5 k in 30 mins!  There were a couple of hills that were long and dragged out and I had 3 lights to deal with.  This is my year to hit it I know it!  It was such nice weather last night also.  Tonight I am going to do my first hill workouts for the season on the treadmill.  This should be fun...  I just have to keep saying to myself... I love hill workouts, I love hill workouts...

Well, challenge wi is tomorrow again so lots of water and watching the sodium.  When I went to the store last night, I picked up some cherry tomatoes and snow peas for snacking.  I am trying to not just have mostly fruit during the day so I am hoping that these will help me.  I can't wait to grow my own so it will not be as expensive.  I have looked at those in home light growing kits and they are just under $200!  OUCH!  So, growing right now is out of the question.  Oh well, pretty soon I will be able to start my plants from seed here in preparation to getting ready to start my garden.  I have always just bought prestarted ones and put them in but I am going to try this on my own this year.

I am working on what to do for supper here.  We have some cous cous left over from supper last night (stir fry) so that will be part of it.  I have to get back into planning my meals here... It works out so much better when I do that.  

I have a little rant.  Two weeks ago my chem instructor changed.  The old one was awesome and was always on the ball.  This new one had my assignment for almost a wk before he marked it and I emailed him 2 days ago for some help and I still have not heard anything back!  I am just about finished my next assignment but I am confused on one question on the practice stuff and low and behold there is a question on the assignment that is pretty close to it.  I sure hope that he gets himself organized more and starts to respond quicker.

Well, I had better go and book myself off here so that they know that I am unavailable for work.

run: 3 hills

Quit Smoking: 1 month 8 days

another visit!

OK... a little PO'd here... TOM decided to show up again!!!!  Not too happy here.  Last year I had it like 4 times with one or two weeks inbetween with no breaks.  I am going to put it up with the exercise that I have been doing or the injury for now.  If it continues though... I am going to go back to my doc...

Well last night's supper was not core at all.  KFC to be exact.  A whole 18 pts worth! lol I did not eat as much as I usually did before I started ww and I was not stuffed.  I was actually hungry about 3 hours later, so I had some grapes with sour cream then went for my workout.  I made sure I got in my 3+ L/day yesterday and the scale was not too overly bad this am so all is good.  I counted everything and I am moving on.

We rented the movie 'Enchanted' last night and it was funny!  The singing was a bit much but I sure laughed my head off throughout the movie though.

Tonight I have my run with the Running Room group and I think we are running 5 or 6 km tonight.  I have to check that.  I will be working out my IT band a bit this am and make sure I really stretch out good after my run.  Last night I had no pains beside my knee at all so what I am doing is working.  I just have to keep it up!  :)

Not quite sure what I am making for supper yet... I think I am still half asleep here.  :)

Plans for the day are homework and submit and assignment I finished yesterday, running, and a little cleaning.

Edit: I completely forgot to tell you about my 'new love!'  Now, I absolutely HATE plain yogurt... really hate it!  So when I read about people mixing ff chocolate pudding powder in their yogurt, I was really skeptical.  I have tried this on Sunday and man oh man... it is totally da BOMB!!!  I love cheesecake and this tastes just like one. Today I put 1 tsp of olive oil (for daily oils) and a tbsp of bran in also and now it is even more like a cheesecake!!!!  I have ran out of my container so now I have to take a break and go to the store to pick up some more.  Oh ya,  I find it quite satisfying and it really tides me over till my next meal.  It satisfies my cravings for chocolate, desert, and stomach all in one.  :)

run: 5.01 km/32:42 mins, avg 175 bpm 6:31 min/km, temp 2 and sunny with little wind, felt good and could have pushed a bit faster, had 3 stop lights to wt for, outside with running room group

Quit Smoking: 1 month 7 days.

Last nights eating...

OK... so yesterday I was doing that slow down your eating thing and stop when you are full and I don't know what happened but last night I kept on snacking... 12 almonds, 11 pretzel chips, more yogurt and ff cho-pudding powder, cadbury thin... I finally made myself a home made London Fog tea at home and said enough already!  The only thing that was core was the yogurt and pudding powder by the way.  Yes it could have been worse but man oh man I do not know what happened.  :(  It was completely mindless eating...  oh... and my water... maybe 1 L in? I still have a couple of WPs left but not very many.  I don't know what I am going to do for the rest of the week let alone tonight for Tuesday's eat out night.  I am counting all the pts and trying to move on on core but I am really not sure now how I am going to make it.  I will be earning some APs today for some extra pts and hope for the best.

So for exercise today I am going to cross train, some strengthening exercise, some challenge moves, and some yoga to stretch things out.  Yesterday I managed to do some yoga and really worked on my IT band.  I also iced it 3X yesterday with some pain killers/anti-infamatories and will do the same today.  I still have bruising on my chest so I wont's go super hard working out that area.  There is only minor pain there right now so I will just take it easy on it.

I was considering subbing today but want to work on my homework.  Last night I had a phone call from one of my guy friends that is in the LPN course here.  He started with the RN one and then decide time wise he would just do the LPN first and decide later.  I used to work with him at one of the long term care homes as a special care aid before I became an EA.  Then I ran into him while I was working at a school because his kids went there.  Small world!  :)  Anyways, he kinda kicked my butt more and got me thinking that I really need to buckle down on my straps more.  He is a good person but man, he is worse than a woman on the phone and does not stop talking!  Two hours later... I finally said that I really have to get going!

Well, as I get ready here for the day, my plans are to really try to see if I can get core to work for me, homework, plan meals, and some light cleaning of the house.

cross training

strengthening

challenge moves

yoga

Quit Smoking: 1 month 6 days

Short week

Well I have 4 days to choose from and I should work 1 or 2 days this week or will not be having any sub days for March!  At least that I can remember anyways...  

Today is day 2 of core and I am going to try to last at least a week to give it a shot.  I am finding quite hard.  Maybe it will get easier.

So, who all watched 'I Can Make You Thin' on TV last night?  I watched it and some of it I found a little crazy and some of it we already know.  It was nice to see at least one success story out of it though... but I was kinda hoping for more.  I didn't take it too heart too much but I do agree that I am guilty of 'shoveling' it in sometimes... Maybe I can look funny and put my fork down too.  Seriously... I am going to try a couple of meals and stop when I am full and see what happens.  I will probably eat again 20 mins later but oh well!

Today is going to be a rest day for me.  Hot yoga is not going to happen... :( I am going to do some at home for some stretching.  I worked on my IT band last night and today it is feeling better so I am going to continue back with that.  My bruises are still on my chest... but not feeling it as much now... YEAH!  Maybe I can get some strengthening exercises in this week.

For supper tonight we are having leftover turkey chili even though it is not fully core.  I guess I just have to count the turkey and beans in tomato sauce again.  I still have to read about APs...

Well, not much to say today, just that it is a serious homework day ahead of me.  :)

yoga

Quit Smoking: 1 month Day 5

Hit my 10 % goal!

The big news for today is that I have officially hit my 10 % goal mark on wt loss today!  Woooo Hoooo!  Now I really need to look closely at what I want my goal wt to be.  I am not quite sure that I really want to get all the way down to 116 bls yet.   I may shoot higher and see what happens.  This lighter wt is really helping with my running though. :)

Well I went for it, my run, and I did not do too badly.  My chest/ribs did OK and I did not swing my arms as much so I would not bug them.  I only had a hard time with my IT band.  It really sucks because I was not able to go to my hot yoga and get a good stretch in, so I am hoping for tomorrow night, but I do not think that will work out because my husband is working and I do not want to leave my son home that late alone.  I really have to get this worked out and figure out how to not have so many problems with it...  It really aggravates my knee.

Well today I am attempting core and even with all the questions and reading that I had last week I have more questions today.  Like APs for example.  Today I earned 8 APs just for running... now are they like extra WPs for today?  Like extra noncore stuff?  I am not sure if I have thought going on this core plan thoroughly enough to see if it is for me.  I really like my eat out Tuesdays and I am not too sure how this will all fit in... the same for Sundays after my run... I like to make sure that I am eating enough afterwards.

Tonight I am making turkey chili.  It is core even though a lot of it comes from a can - surprising... Edit:  Ok made my first core goof up... I just found out that my chili is NOT core!  Arrrrgh!  The brown beans in tomato sauce I guess are not... The same with the ground turkey meat.  I guess ALL ground meat is NOT core!  :(  This is going to be WAY harder than I thought.  I went to the grocery store and picked up some core items that I did not have and hopefully I can make it at least one week.  lol  I am still going to count my pts just to make sure that I am not eating WAY to much food this week.  Somehow I just don't trust myself just yet.  The last couple of days I have really been trying to pay attention to the way I feel when I eat and to make sure that I stop eating when I am satisfied enough and not stuffed.  :)  Well, today so far, I just finished wolfing down some grapes with sour cream and don't really remember eating it.  lol  This is going to go well....

Tutoring went well, thus the hunger.... She is catching on quite fast actually.  I am happy for her.  I still have to get some homework done myself here and time wise it is not looking good for me so far.

Well, time to get some dishes done so I can get some supper going...

run: 10.65 km/1:18:24 mins, avg 170 bpm 7:22 min/km, temp -6 cloudy then sun came out, felt pretty good except for IT band bugging my knee, must stretch more and make sure I get my yoga in, wore 3 layers (stupid) was really warm, ran with another lady and kept her company since my other running person was not there (moving), breakie worked out well again but need to wake up just a little bit earlier

yoga

Quit Smoking: 1 month 4 days

wow.... :(

I was just clearing out my hotmail of some older emails... and well... I look so terrible on television!!!!  :(  This pic was at Telemiracle last year... I can't believe how much my tummy folded over.  I thought I looked good there!

Oh well, this is just another reason for me to stay focused and positive that I can do this!

I have to pt this out.

I just came across this url in the GDT posts I was reading... Have some kleenex with you before you watch. (click on words)

A last lecture

All I can say is WOW!! 

nuff said...

a good day...

Well I am feeling much better this morning and the bruising doesn't look so bad....  actually kind of funny... :)  I did manage to go for a walk yesterday and I took my son for a game of mini golf.  I had to laugh, not really laugh but you'll know what I mean, at a lady with her approx 4 yr old son behind me... She looked like she was going to drop her baby at any moment.  She was pregnant.  The baby had dropped soooooo much on her it actually looked kind of funny.  I asked her when she was due and she said 'today' (yesterday).  And she had the courage to do 18 rounds of mini golf!!!  I am serious... the baby was so far down and forward it looked like it was going to come any second... Good for her!

Well yesterday my son and I made the low pt chocolate brownies from the ww site with the All Bran cereal.  They were a hit with us all.  My husband said I could make these every night...  I warned him about the amount of fibre in them but he did not care...  lol  My son had like 3 pieces....  My husband had 2... I had one, I was a good girl in controlling myself... :)  I also made some steak marinated in the Lord of the Wings sauce from the ESBM cookbook and some wild mushroom cous sous with a side of salade.  Supper was AWESOME!!!  I will be making all that again... ;)

Well this am I have to wake my son up here and get him ready.  He wants to make pancakes again... before he goes to space club.  After he is done there, I am driving him to his friend's house.  You know he is old enough (11) to walk there but he is afraid to.  I may go and tutor my friend in math while he is there.  She is working on finishing her high school math for the requirements in the nursing course.

Today I am feeling good enough to go for another walk.  I am hoping that tomorrow is even better as I really do not want to miss my long run.  We are supposed to run 10 km and I cant't miss that one...

Tomorrow is official ww wi in day so there is lots of water planned and I hope to avoid some sodium as well.  I was quite happy with my result yesterday in the challenge wi and I do not want to mess it up.  I sure can't wait for after my run though... it is going to be an easy 8 extra pts for me!  Yeah!  Dim Sum may be calling my name....  I know I should chose a little healthier... but besides Tues eat out night, Sunday is the only other time that I would chose to eat worse foods.  Its all in moderation.... and controlled portions... lol

walk

Quit Smoking: 1 month 3 days

feeling better...

Well today I am feeling like I am going to take a walk!  The complete rest has done me some good and I hope to be well enough on Sunday morning to head out for my long run.  Good news with nothing being broken is I don't lose as much time away from running, and my endurance is still in my muscle memory so that is good.  If all things work out well... I will be back running normally soon!  Yeah!

Well my challenge wi was this morning and I am pleased to say that I managed to get rid of those extra 5 lbs on the scale that scared me this week.  I am down 1.6 lb from last Friday!  Woooo Hoooo!  After seeing the 'scare' on the scale I really tightened up on my eating healthier for the rest of the week and drank I swear 4+ L/day!  The only 'treat' that I had was the angel food cake that was supposed to work out to 2 pts per piece, but after we lost a good chunk of it to the walls of the oven... I think that number dropped.  :)  So happy day for me!

Last night I let my son cook for his dad and himself, I had my own supper all ready before of a turkey kabob.  Austin made hamburger helper all by himself.  He has been really into cooking more and loves doing it, so I thought I would teach him more.  I figure with the packaged foods it would be easier until he can get enough coordination to do more.  This am he wakes up early and says he wants to make pancakes!  Yeesh! Why don't you just tease me some more.  Pancakes.... drool...  lol So my son made his pancakes, a little burnt but who doesn't at times, and right now I am cooking my steel cut oats.  I tried these oats yesterday with a banana and I quite like them.  So we have the fan going from all the pancake mix on the burner.  Austin's little mishap trying to 'flip' the pancakes.  lol  All in all, things went well though.

So last night I was reading a post on the GDT about someone feeling that her daily multivitamins were causing problems in her wt loss... there were some valid pts that were made.  Although from what I have learned I would never give up a daily vitamin, I wonder if looking for a new one would be in order?  The problems that she noted were wt gain and lack of going to the bathroom... if you know what I mean.  Another poster mentioned something about taking a children's vitamin instead?  The amount of Iron in the multi-V was mentioned as a culprit for 'not going'... I will check in to this before I believe it.  If that is true though, I can see where taking a children's Vit would be a lower dose and would ease the problems?  As I said already though, I will not give up my daily Vit but I am willing to change them as I have noticed that 'going' has been more of a problem the last couple of weeks.  My wt loss is not a problem yet but... you never know.  If someone has low iron though... I would not change from an adult dose.  As for everyone taking daily Vit... from what I said before, we need them or we do not get enough of the vit and mins that we need, even when we plan at our best.

Well, my breakie is done cooking and I am hungry.  Sorry, the stomach rules over the blog.

Ok, I am back.  :)  Well, by looking at the mess in the kitchen, I think I know what has to be done first today, so that is what my son and I will be doing first.  I would like to get another couple of assignments in so that will be a priority also.  I was originally planning to take my son skiing today since he has the day off of school and with the 2 for 1 pass I have from the ski hill, but with the injury I can't do that now.  So, I think I am going to have to find another thing we can do.  Maybe the movies, mini golf, not too sure about swimming yet, or maybe go on a hunt for a new 'active' wii game?  Even though we have the old game box DDR, we could always go for the new wii one, I hear it gets the whole body involved.  If I could find the Guitar Hero, I would get that one.  That one really works on the eye-hand coordination.  I know some people would frown at even thinking of getting video games... but you have to understand my son.  Sports are just not his thing... Some of these games have helped him more than you could know with his coordination. It took a long time for him to learn how to use them, but now that he knows... things are better.  When he goes to Calgary to his biological father's after Easter, he is going to be going skiing there.  Although Austin says he is NOT going on the lift though... :)  This should be interesting because my ex-husband feel's that Austin should be able to do things 'normally' and be just like every other 11 yr old boy... 

We are going to make another 'treat' though later today... the low pt brownies made with the bran.  So we will see how much damage we can do with that one.  lol

Well, I have gone on quite long enough for today.

walk?

Quit Smoking: 1 month 2 days

went to the doc...

Good news... nothing broken, bad news... bruised ribs and such.  I knocked things around pretty good when I hit the ground.  So yes, there is nothing I can do but take some pain killers (he prescribed) which make me ill.  :(  I can't go running until things feel better.  I am going nuts here though.  There is only so much I can handle of sitting around!  Today it looks like it is going to be another rest day... *sigh*  I had to try snowboarding at least once in my life though...

Well I have to tell you a funny story from last night.  While I was 'happily' medicated, I decided to make an angel food cake with my son.  Now I swear that I read on a post that someone used diet pop mixed with it to make it more pt friendly...  So my son and I started making it.  We poured in the diet sprite in the mix and it starts to foam... I am OK, I guess it is supposed to do that (haven't made an angel food cake before) and we put it in the oven and set the timer.  Oh my... 5 mins later my son comes from the kitchen going 'oh no!' and I am like OK what's wrong?  Austin says that the cake is exploding and oozing all over the place.  So, you know kids exaggerate so I was not too worried until I saw for myself...  Sure enough, there was angel food cake, exploding/oozing all over my oven.  So, what does a girl do that belongs to ww?  Post on the GDT board.  lol  So I asked what did I do wrong when I made this cake.  I guess you are supposed to mix pop with cake and fruit and other stuff with angel food cake!  Someone had posted that when you mix angel food cake with pop, it is like the science volcano experiment... Ya I know that now!  I had a volcano in my oven!  So, key lessons learned: 1) don't try to bake when medicated and 2) pop + angel food cake only belongs in science class.  lol

Today there will be no baking of cakes.  We did manage to salvage some of the cake that ended up being very light and bubbly (less pts!  lol) I just let it cook because I did not want to see our efforts lost.  Tomorrow though, I am looking at making the low point brownies... the one's with bran and a low-fat brownie mix?  I think I will research that one a bit more before I attempt it.  :)

For supper today, I haven't got a clue.  My week is so messed up at the moment and every thing seems turned around on me.  Good news though is that I am getting lots of homework done. :)  So as I said earlier, no exercise for me today.  :(

Tomorrow is challenge wi so I am going to be careful with the sodium and up my water.  I am really hoping for an at least stay the same... 

Quit Smoking: 1 month, 1 day!

still really sore...

Well this morning I am still pretty sore, my ribs especially...  I have had broken ribs before and I don't think that I have them again, but Wow!  I can't move without being in pain here.  I am supposed to do a 3 km run tonight...  I am going to have to see about if I am capable of doing that one... :(  This is not something that I need right now.  The scale is even showing pain right now along with it.  I am so far up 1.8 lbs which is really odd for me this morning.  I just finished TOM and I have been drinking water like crazy here... but going to the bathroom?  Not as much as I should be.  Yes I have had some of the 'bad' food on Sun and Mon, but I have stayed within my pts.  The highest sodium day would have been Mon with the fries, and yesterday was all healthy stuff.  So I am going to shoot for a sts this week.  I was hoping for a loss but I do not think it is going to happen.  I have also been taking some painkillers which I know can reek havic on the scale also.  I just wish that this pain would go away... I hate having this much of it.  My husband says that if it is too bad again later today, he wants to take me in to see if I fractured anything.  I told him sure, but really there is nothing someone can do for fractured ribs besides heal it out and pain killers...

So, exercise wise for me today is to get my run in if I can.  If not... then I will be doing nothing again.

As for food today, I am planning a healthy day food wise and I am going to try to up my water even more and get some flushing going on.

Yesterday, I managed to do some homework and cooked some chicken for supper.  I steamed some green beans for myself to go with it.  The rest of the family had rice and steamed veggies smothered in sauce.   We all had a slice of the Blue Menu Apple Crisp for desert.  You know that apple crisp really was not bad for 2 pts.

As for being on 19 pts/day, I am having a hard time with it I think, especially on days that I can not earn APs to get extras pts.  I have made sure that I do not go in to my FPs too much but it sure is getting harder.  I know that it is just the mentality of it all but I sure wish I can snap out of things here soon.

Well, I am pretty tired here.  I would love just to go back to sleep but I have to wake my son up here in half an hour... My dog, Tala, insisted she had to go out this morning at 6 am!  ARrrrrrg!  I hear a small nap calling my name as soon as my son goes off to school here..... :)

Quit Smoking: Day 31 (1 month!!!!)

what a sleep...

Well last night I slept hard.  I went to bed at 9 pm and fell right asleep until 7:15 am this morning.  I am still pretty sore.

Today water, water, and more water and healthy food.  We are not going to have our eat Tuesday night because Jason brought home McD's last night.  I had the Oriental chicken salad.  I am not going to workout at all and give my muscles the break that they need.

Other than that, I am just going to do my homework today.

Short blog this morning...

Quit smoking: Day 30!

Well today I have learned that I will not be going snowboarding again.  It is just not for me.  :) Everyone kept on saying that there is a faster learning curve with it but I do not see it.  I did find my wrist guards and used them with my knee guards... but that ended up hurting me even more... I kept falling forwards and not back wards and well... I ended up going really hard down on to my chest with my wrist guards connecting with my chest.  I had the wind completely knocked out of me!  It actually scared me quite a bit because I could not breath.  I was struggling to get on my back and sit up.  I finally made it and finally managed to breath again.  In the mean time they were calling for first aid to help.  It was so embarrassing...  I tried one more time to go down and I just could not do it anymore and was having some hard times getting my breath in still.  So for the last 45 mins I traded in my snowboard for skis and went skiing instead.  I felt more secure and better abled to do that.  

My son just loved doing it. (downhill skiing)  Even though he stayed on the 'bunny hill' the whole day, he had a blast and really enjoyed himself.  Me... I am super sore from the last couple of days and today really did me in.  I am supposed to run tomorrow for at least 3-4 km but I need to take a day off here and recoup my muscles or I am going to kill myself.  :)  I can start to tell now that I am getting worn out because the right side of my throat is starting to swell and feel funny.  I don't know if it is from the trying to breath earlier or if I wore my immune system down with the last couple of day's activities.  The phone has been ringing off the hook for me to come in and sub, but I just can't do it.  So I am going to take it easy here and just do homework from the comfort of my couch.  lol  I know it is not the best to do it there but, I just need to be comfortable right now.

The pics above are of me attempting to snowboard, Austin, and Austin and I.

I brought my snacks but did have a treat of some french fries... :)  I have not had them since a couple of weeks before I started ww.  They were quite good, but I can go without them again for awhile.  I had my fix and now I am good.  :)  I really have to start eating healthier again... I can really feel that junk/bad food choice hangover...

Well I am off to bed here early... :)  It has been one really, really long day...

off snowboarding...

Well, today Austin and I are off to the ski to the ski hill with his school.  Austin is going to ski and I am going to take a snowboarding lesson!  This should be different. lol.  I heard that I should wear wrist protectors... I couldn't find ours from rollerblading.  I will keep looking this morning.

I am going to have my smoothie for breakfast and pack a lunch for the both of us with some snacks.  Yesterday was really unhealthy, so today will be a bit healthier.  For supper tonight I have the chicken thighs already taken out so we are going to have Lord of the Wings from the ESBM cookbook and give that recipe a try.

I am bringing my camera, so maybe I will get in a few pics while I am there.

Well, tah-tah for now... I will finish later after I get back.  Now lets see how many APs I can get for this...

Quit Smoking: Day 29!

so nice to run in the warmer weather...

Well, this morning's run was in a nice temp of -8... It felt sooooo good!  I could even have dropped down a layer in my clothes.  It was kinda funny because we were talking about that it was almost nice enough to wear shorts!  lol  Seriously!  Sun was shining and the wind was low.  It was pretty icy out though.  Thankfully no one slipped.

Well for lunch we are going out for dim sum... I have done well eating there before... so I know I can do this.  :)

Yesterday, I finally made it back to hot yoga and got my butt kicked hard!  I am feeling it this morning.  It should be fun tomorrow with both feeling it from the yoga and my run because I am going with my son's school skiing and I am taking a snowboarding lesson!  Yes... I am crazy... and scared... :(  I have always skied.  So I will be out there with all the students in the morning lessons.  This should be funny...  Ask me tomorrow night how I feel.  Watch... I will break something.  lol

Supper tonight is going to be spaghetti or something with chicken from the ESBM book.  I am thinking a chicken recipe from the book would be better as we are all enjoying trying the new recipes.  Well supper turned out to be Domino's Chicken Kickers.  After 1 hr 45 mins walking around the dog park and  being really good at Dim Sum, I figured will all the APs I have earned today, I am going to treat myself. :)  It is the beginning of the ww week for me and including the chicken kickers... I still will not have touched my FPs with 2  APs left to spare!  The sodium is going to be higher today, oh well. water, water, and more water... :)

My husband was also talking about taking all 3 dogs to the dog pard today... we will have to bring the muzzle for the little guy though and he will need to be on a lead.  Denver, the little guy, lasted about half way and then was put in the car.  We are thinking that we may have to look into doggy calming meds for times like this till we can get him back accustomed to other new animals.  Not something I really want to do, but this is a total last resort.

Official wi: 133 lbs, down 13.6 lbs and 15.25 inches!

run: 9.2 km/1:05:00, avg 169 bpm 7:04/km, temp -8 with windshield -14 and winds 13 km/hr, sunny, 8:30 am, dressed with my 3 layers top, 1 bottom, and headband. (a little too warm)

Quit Smoking: Day 28!

something interesting I came across

So I am starting Saturday's post a little early... like in the middle of the night! lol I will continue on in the morning on this one.

I am just have been playing around, doing homework actually, and working with this Diet Analysis Plus software for my Nutrition class. I have always wondered how many calories and such was I eating on the ww plan. Now we all say it is about 50 cal per pt and then you have the cal for the 0 pt stuff and minus and add pts for the fat and fibre and such... well... I have just entered 3 days of food in to this program and it totally breaks everything down to see what I am eating AND it compares it to the RDI values! Very interesting.... I now see why ww has us taking a multi vitamin and oils every day! Now this is all based on my wt, sex, ht, activity level etc... to compare to my own reccomended values. On just my daily pts of 19, I definately do not have enough food to cover everything! All I can say is I am glad that I use my APs and FPs! They have totally helped in making sure I am eating right. This program has REALLY opened my eyes and I am going to make sure that I am eating enough food from now on while still staying OP.

Now I know I could have just used sparkpeople.com to figure out my calories... but this is so way better! I really like this program. I hope that I can still use it after my course is finished...

Well my run turned in to one of my best feeling work outs this year... I felt fantastic and I felt like I could have just gone on forever. I set my speed lower for a light run and it felt sooooo good. I was feeling so crampy all day and waited till 8 pm to run and had to force myself to go do it. I was so happy with myself afterwards for making myself do it. :) I did my challenge exercises after and then stretched out and cooled down with some yoga. It is only now that the cramps are coming back on strong... I see some pain relief coming on before beddy-bye.... :)

Well my husband was bugging me tonight (Friday night right now) because of my clothes. He swears that even though I may weigh more than when I first met him... I look way skinnier! :) And that I really do need new clothes here soon because my pants are all looking like I have a 'poopy' bum. lol I know... only a man can come up with a caring remark like this. :) I just had to laugh and say 'thanks sweetie, so when are you taking me shopping?' lol He had no comment. :) I have to account all this difference to the way I am approaching working out and making sure that I have a variety and not just running and eating so many carbs. I also have to thank the amount of water that I drink everyday... before, I was living off of gatorade thinking this was good because I ran. Can you say Sodium. I will leave that one for later. Boy I was ignorant. You think after losing so much wt before that I would have learned a thing or two. Nope. I must say though that this time around is way better and I am learning so much more.

Well since Sunday is my official wi day, I will be watching my sodium and pouring the water down my throat. :) I am starting to try to think of a reward for my next goals here of a few things. I can't really afford much at the moment... so things have to be cheap. I am thinking a 20 lb loss will be my next goal. Also, I have been debating the whole 116 lb wt loss goal... I think I may change it to 120. It is a lot easier to be at that wt. I'll see what my body feels like when I get closer.

I am really hoping to go to hot yoga this afternoon because the withdrawals of not going in the last bit is killing me... I feel so good after a class and what a way to get all stretched out before my long run on Sunday. No matter what though, I am going to do a 30 min walk on the treadmill.

My food for the day is going to be my smoothie for breakfast, maybe my portobello mushroom burger for lunch and salad, and I thought I had plans for supper but my husband is working late so I will be just cooking for Austin and I, then plus some snacks.

As for the update on my son's biography poster, the teacher wrote me back in our communications book and not his EA. She said she told the students that they were being displayed and wanted their best work. She said she knows that Austin can do better and wanted that. OK. Fine. We will do it again, but I don't really think it is a good reason. It was neat for him. I am going to leave this for now because I am sure it will be brought up at our meeting between all of us and I have to trust her judgement. Maybe when we are face to face she can make better sense of all this. I just had to laugh because it was the teacher that responded and not the EA... I was really nice when I wrote in the book...

Well the animals are surrounding me... It's now morning feeding time at my zoo... :) I did finish putting up some pics of all the animals that I have right now on the side bar. Our hamster and baby corn snake are no longer with us :( as of last summer, so they are not in there.

hot yoga
walk
Quit Smoking: Day 27!

knew it was coming...

TOM that is... My plan for the day is drugs... lol OK... so I am not going to drug myself completely up or anything, I do have some homework to kick butt in. :)

Today is a light 3 km run with some challenge exercises. Yesterday's cross training went quite well as I really pushed to go faster with the elliptical and the bike.

Since I have not made it to the hospital to pick up some applications yet and that was one of my goals for the week, that will definately be in order for today. I was talking to my friend last night and she said that they have been in a hiring freeze here since December and that the freeze will be lifted by the end of the month. So I had better get moving. :)

You know... I find it so funny that all the provinces have spring break at different times. The ones that have it now I find a little weird. The kids here have theirs starting with Good Friday and then the following week. To me it just makes sense instead of having all the Easter Candy in their system for school. Just a thought that came to my mind. I heard quite a few people talk on the boards yesterday about being on holidays or they will be starting them next week. The other thing that brought this thought up is that I received an email yesterday from Empire theaters and they advertised toonie mattinees. SK is not on their list... :( because we are not on spring break like most of the country at the same time.... I am wondering if they will do that for us when we start ours?

Well all I can say is I am happy that I made chilli last night for supper and that it will last today also plus some snacks. I really do not feel like doing much today... I really do hate this time of month. Why can't they just take everything when they 'fix' you? I can't carry kids any ways... I know it has to do with hormone production, but seriously... I have taken BC just to control the cramping but it is so useless for me. I just want them to take it all out already!!! This all comes from going to the hospital too many times for serious pain management and wonky TOMs... Well beside the drugs... a hot water bottle will be my best friend.

OK... so I am sounding a little on the grouchy side this morning...

On the positive side, for my challenge wi this morning I am down to 133 lbs, which is 0.6 from last Friday, and I have earned 83 APs since we have started. I am happy with this especially considering who decided to grace us with their presence. Sunday's wi should be interesting... I should say that during this, I don't feel like eating much, where as the week before it... I will eat any thing and fight for control. :)

OK... so I have one more rant... yesterday my son comes home and he is very upset. He tells me he has to redo his biography poster... OK fine... then he shows me his mark that he got on it. 7/10! OK... so I am not quite understanding here... he gets a good mark and they want him to redo it? This is pretty hard for me to comprehend let alone a child that has Asperger's! This is too much of a grey area. He did his work, he got a good mark, now they want him to redo it because they said it is not good enough... Jason and I really had to struggle with this one on trying to calm him down and make this situation a good one. I know they are fighting for neatness with him... but this was neat and he did very well at his printing. Arrrrgh!

Can you tell this is going to be a long day for me yet?

Well, it is just about time here to wake my son up, then off to the races I go.

run: 4.4 km/40 mins, treadmill set at 6.4 km/hr, felt so good at 3 km I just had to continue, I forced myself to stop at 4 km, it felt sooooo good and felt like I could run forever. It was a nice light run.

challenge exercises
yoga

Quit Smoking: Day 26!

new personal record..

Well last night I achieved a new PR in my running.  I ran 5.19 km is just under 34 mins.  I had planned to run 4 km and when I arrived at the running room, they were going to run 3 km, so there were 3 of us that decided to go a bit extra to make 4... well that turned into just over 5, and a steady run too.  I was very proud of myself as I have only run 4 km straight before!

Today is another homework day.  Yesterday I managed to submit an assignment in one class, and finish another unit in another.  So all went well there.  I never managed to go to the grocery store so today that is in the agenda for sure.

Exercise today is cross training with the elliptical, bike, and walk, with some weights.

With my challenge wi in tomorrow, today is lots of water and very low in sodium.  I have looked at the scale this am, as I always do every morning, and there is a small loss thus far.  I am going to try to shoot for 1 lb so I can make sure I am well in to the next digits, 132's!  I am so grateful that I have not plateaued yet... I know it will come at some pt.  I have been OP since I have started even though I have had my treats.  :)  They were all within pts and that is all good.  I want this so badly... with quitting smoking you always hear of people gaining wt.  I do not want to be one of them.  I really do feel that doing ww while trying to quit is helping me stay in control of my eating.

Well, time to get my son up.  He has had some hard days lately... I am questioning the meds at this pt and wondering if he is going through some hormonal changes.  It is either that or all the sugar leaving his body from being at his Nana Mo's.  I really have to speak to them again about that.

Well today I am on the tired side... and not to mention hot flashes!  I am way too young to have those... :)  This morning though it sure feels like someone has cranked up the heat in a big way and it is like - 29 outside!  So the house should be on the cooler side.  So I am dying of heat here...  well better than freezing I guess.  TOM must be near...

Oh... just saw the temps for next week!  Warmer and plus side... yeah!

elliptical

walk

bike

Quit Smoking: Day 25!

Something I came across...

'Are you going to be a wimp, or are you going to be strong today?' - Peter Maher, two-time Olympic marathoner from Canada  - my new daily question. :)

I came across this in 101 Kicks in the Butt while reading some stuff from Runner's World.  It had loads of ideas to boost yourself off the couch and motivational ideas to make running more fun.

I am locking myself up...

lol... not really, but I am going to be staying in my study room for most of the day though.  I managed to complete some homework yesterday and the taxes for all of us.  There has only been one year since I turned 18 that I have had anyone else do mine and that was the last income tax with my ex-husband.  I figure if I have been taught how to do it and know how to... I should be able to do it.  And the weird thing is that I just love doing it.  :)  Seriously, Accounting class was fun for me.  I know... GEEK!  lol

So last night I ran on the treadmill and increased my speed just a little to see how I would feel.  I went pretty well!  It is not time for speed intervals or anything like that yet, you need a good base first, but I just want to increase my speed a little when I run so I am taxing my system more.  I keep on training with the same speeds and this time... trying something new.  Tonight is running 4 ks with the running room.  It is -19 out right now so I am hoping that it warms up just a bit and that there is not a repeat of winds like Sunday.  At least we are only out for a short run.

Tonight for supper I am making steak with salad for me and something with the rest of the fam's.  I can sure tell that TOM is poking its dreary head around the corner here, cravings have been harder than usual, and the grouchiness?  Well let's just say that between the not smoking and PMS... I am having a lot of fun right now.   NOT!  I really do find that this is the weakest time for me and giving in to temptations.  I have used up 3/4 of my FPs already!  Mind you the one cinnamon melt took a good chunk by itself.  :)

I had a good chat with my Nanny yesterday and she sounds so much better.  She sounds 'alive' and her voice was cheerful.  I am grateful that things are going well.  She has been having a couple of rough nights but for the most part, she is improving well.

I am just realizing now that I am going to have to 'break free' from my study room today at some pt and grab grocery 'necessities only.'  I was hoping to wait till the weekend but have noticed things this morning were out and are needed everyday.  Maybe I will just make my weekend shopping list now and do it all today instead of Sunday?  I think that is a plan.

Well, I am off to finish getting my son ready for school.  He hid his homework last night so he would not have to do it.  I found it this morning and right now he is at the kitchen table doing it before school.  Ahhh.... the joys of being a parent...

run: 5.19 km/33:55 mins, outside with running room, 6 pm, avg 181 bpm :( 6:33 mins/km :), temp -13, good run, very hilly though, slipped a couple of times, over all very proud as this is my PR!!! YEAH!

Quit Smoking: Day 24!

time to get back on track...

Today I am making a vow to give my ol' butt a kick and get back on track with my homework.  I have been so lacking in doing this and I am now way far behind in everything!  I am actually kind of scared the amount that I am behind.  I was very happy when I got the news about getting in to the RN program and feel that it was the 'wake up' I needed to get myself back in order.  I have been focusing so much on ww and exercise that I have neglected this way too much.  Today this all changes.  

Here are my rules:

1.  homework everyday not subbing, every subject 2 hrs and when subbing, 1 hour each

2.  exercise on planned days

3.  less time on the ww boards posting except my usual threads on set time for morning and night.  (there will be some free time that I can hopefully)  I'm addicted!  :)

4.  try to grocery shop only once per week (I tend to go more and spend needlessly)

5.  water will be my drink of choice why doing homework

There, this covers things for the most part.  This a.m. I am going to work on a time schedule for myself as I work better with these.  Its either that or I am going to have to hire a drill sargent to kick my butt!

This week my goal is to go to the university hospital here and grab an application for work in a few areas.  I would like to get back in working with SK health so I have a better chance getting a job after schooling.  If I have to work in housekeeping... that is perfectly OK with me, I would like to be a unit aid though as this was basically what the old special care aid did when I was one before.  I also would like to get a job there because it is way better pay on casual than working as a sub educational assistant.  Did you know that I lost around $6/hr from going to casual from a contract position!!!! Unbelievable how much difference there is in pay.  No wonder that they do not have enough subs in.  Even the Teacher subs get better pay and it is comparable!  I never knew how bad it was because I was hired right on to a contract and never subbed for the last 5 yrs.  I may keep my sub position as a 'just in case' kind of thing, but the hospital is way better and will give me summer employment also.  Now this is if I get a job.  :)

Anyways, exercise for the day is some cross training with a walk.  Food today is 'eat out' Tuesday, so quite the higher pt day for me.  edit : I am doing a 4 km steady run on the treadmill.  I have decided that Thursday will be my hard cross training day.

oh! I almost forgot... I have a confession...  My DH came home from a break at work yesterday and stopped at McD's... he brought home 2 Cinnamon melts!  My weakness of cinnamon buns took the better of me and I had a whole one!  10 pts gone!!!  All I can say is boy oh boy was it good and I sure drank my self silly with the water afterwards.  :)  I am managing to get over this ok actually.  I have realized that this is a lifestyle change and I am going to have my treats in moderation.  I will have days of ups and days of downs...  I know that I am still on track and doing better than I was before and that is all that matters.  This is why I look forward to Tuesday's 'eat out night' so much!  

run: 4.18 km/30 mins, treadmill, 9 pm, 8.3 km/hr, felt really good until last 2 mins (maybe from the taco time earlier)

Quit Smoking: Day 23!

I got in!!!!!!

I am so excited and have found my motivation again... I got into the RN degree program! Wooooo Hoooo! I am so excited.... can't you tell? lol I am now waiting to see if my one friend passes some tests so she will be able to go also. It's kinda nice to have someone there that you know in classes. I am just so excited because I have been accepted into a 'real' college and not just ol' arts and science anymore.... YEAH! Also no more certificates! (I have gone to school 4 times now) <--- yes I want to grow up... some day... :) So this will make me done my schooling in 3 yrs. I have just over a year of nursing classes already done... so I am ahead of the game. I would just LOVE to bring out the bubbly right now... but I have been doing so well... I am scare to jynx it... But I know naturally it will come to an end here sooner or later. OH well, enjoy it while I can 'cause you never know I may slip into some deep depressed coma and eat everyone out of house and home. lol

Another good thing today... I just received in the mail my WW Points value calculator and tracker that I had order from Ebay 1.5 weeks ago! I debated about just getting smaller point value calculator but liked the extra options that this one had. I have been having fun playing with it. :) It should make grocery shopping a little easier now.

For exercise today I am just going to take Tala out for a small walk. It is a real rest day for me so that is basically it. Food wise was leftover fish cakes and steamed bok choi for lunch and for supper it is my portobello mushroom burger. It is basically what our family calls a 'fend for yourself' night for eating... this happens when generally Jason works too late or we have too many leftovers. Both are happening tonight.

So the weather here in gool ol' SK still sucks! But it is supposed to get better here throughout the week. Plus sides for the weekend! I gotta love the warmer weather but hate the melting... especially with wet dogs... :(

walk dog
Quit Smoking: Day 22!

Frozen

Can you say f r o z o n !!! 'Cause that is what I am right now! In all the times I have run... I do not remember myself being this darn cold! I am even having a really hard time typing right now. I must be weighing less than I used when running. No 'extra' padding to keep me warm! :( I started off my susposively 9 km run at -15 with windshield of -24 and then all H*LL broke loose and the temp dropped to -17 with windshield -31 and wind gusts of 45-52 km/hour. Now I have run in snow storms and times colder than this, but today took the cake for sure. I do have one problem though... this is the second time I have run with this running room location and the distance was out (only a bit) again. Usually it is a bit over so we can ease off or ease into. So my 9 km run was 8.76 km. Close enough I guess... I will just have to watch the longer runs to make sure that I am getting in my distances. I did have my smoothie with milk this am and it was good. Right after the run, I had 1 cup of chocolate milk.

Well, as you can see by my pic of mushrooms... I have found a new love! Portobello mushrooms. I have been grilling them for the last couple of days for a burger and I LOVE them! I went and picked up some more yesterday because everyone was gone and so the supper I had originally planned is going to be tonight instead, potato fish cakes. I have had this one filet left in the freezer and it is not enough to feed everyone so I decided I would give making fish cakes a try.

OK... I can't stop shivering here! Warm thoughts.... think warm thoughts....

Well I am done for exercising today. I think I earning something like 7 or 8 APs. That's enough. I am just going to stretch out now and dream of a hot bath since I can't have one after a run. Stupid muscles. And I am way too cold to have a cold bath to take care of my muscles... Again... stupid muscles...

Today is homework - I am really falling behind now and have to smarten up! Then some house cleaning and pick up my son from my mom's. He wanted to stay again last night. Go figure... wouldn't you if you got spoiled rotten and could eat anything you wanted?

I almost forgot... official wi today and I am at 133.4 lbs! (weight before run) Woooo Hoooo! I am off now so I can take my measurements before I forget - yes I do them weekly... It helps me through this. :)

run: 8.76 km/1:06:07, avg 173 bpm 7:33 mins/km, sunny -17 windshield -31, wind gusts 45-52 km/hr, 3 layers top, touque, neck warmer, 1 layer bottom (needed two), mitts, felt really good except for the cold and running into the wind, 8:30 am
Quit Smoking: Day 22