day one hundred and eighty one

Waiting for my nephew to show up with the couches he wants to store in my basement. It's after 11 p.m. I am too old for the shenanigans of the young...

So much excitement for the last few days and I'm tuckered. Long day at work today making sure stuff is ready for tomorrow... mostly I want to sack out.

Looking forward to loads of fun both at Friend Theresa's Canada Day Party and our own shin-dig. Also the prospect of golf on Sunday - woot woot :)

Happy Canada Day y'all :)

day one hundred and eighty

Yep, this has shaped up to be one terrific week :)

Just returned from the best evening with my oldest friend. We don't get to see each other near enough but we pick up like it was just last week. Forty years later she still walks too fast and I still walk too slow. Funny how the old patterns re-emerge in these two people who are now completely different from those two 10 year olds but still fundamentally the same. We were lucky to have found each other but in this crazy mixed up world of "adult" hood we're luckier again cuz we still  manage to find each other. More importantly, we set a date for our trip to celebrate, commiserate and contemplate that we're turning 50. (She turned in Feb. so is waaaaay older than me ) Off to New York in November!!!!

If I haven't told you already - you really need to go to Acclamation for their gumbo. Not sure why they call it gumbo cuz, well, it isn't, but still... it rocks my world :)
Hope y'all are keepin' on keepin' on... ttyl :)

day one hundred and seventy nine

A most excellent today !!!

Ridiculous amount of fun at the golf tournament. The weather was stellar (ok 10 minutes of rain) and the course was in beautiful shape. I had another day whee I just couldn't seem to hit the ball wrong. It was AWESOME :) It was a shotgun start so we started on hole 9. The ladies longest drive was hole 10. A little disappointing cuz that's not alot of time to warm up. I stepped up, took a deep breath and cracked a wicked drive 170 yds straight down the fairway. Now comes the hard part. Will that glorious drive hold up for the rest of the day? There are 25 or so more foursomes to go thru there and lots of gals. Long story short - YES! YES! YES! It held up all day.  I took Ladies longest drive. V. happy - over the moon as it were. I'm still pretty thrilled...

If you have ever golfed with Friend Brad and I, you know a main component of the day is golf cart snacks. Usually it's a conglomerate of candy, chips, and all sorts of nasty things. Well, there were the pre-requisite nasty things (Twizzlers and hot pepperettes) but this year we also had raw almonds, fresh watermelon and blueberries. It was nice to be able to snack out on healthy treats.

Looking forward to tomorrow and hanging with my oldest friend. Ahhhh this is turning into a great week :)

day one hundred and seventy eight

Three more great words : golf tournament tomorrow :) If y'all could just send out some "no rain" vibes that would be super. I don't mind cloudy, I don't mind overcast - just please NO RAIN.

The trainer from my gym called me today (not EJ) but Lesley the assessment gal. Before when she did my check up she couldn't find my original paperwork. Oh well... we just kind of winged it. Today she found it and wanted to call to tell me I had , in fact, lose 81/2 inches. Not all in one place mind you *giggle* but eight and one half inches off my person. Pretty cool, eh?

I want to talk about lots of interesting things but there's a voice in my head just humming a wee song that goes something klike' "golf, golf, golfie golf" so I can't really come up with anything. I think I need to be done.
I'll talk to y'all tomorrow with something clever and pithy but right now... I gotta go clean my golf shoes :)
ttyl

day one hundred and seventy seven

The school of thought is, "never complain when you're busy" so please don't take this next bit as a complaint. We got the shit kicked out of us at work today. Crazy busy. So... many... people. *shudder* That said, it was great fun :)

On my way home from work I managed to connect with an old friend. This was necessary to get me off his "Shitler's List". Aside from getting off the list *phew* it was just pure joy talking with him. God I love old friends and resent that they can't all live on the same block as me.
More good news on the old friend front. Friend Janet (who qualifies as my oldest friend as we met in grade two) is in town and we get to spend an entire evening together. I'm over the moon.

This is an exhilarating vibe to take into the upcoming week (did I mention I'm in a golf tournament as well !!). So this week's goal? Enjoy! That's it... just enjoy the way my life unfolds and make sure I'm present for the whole thing :)

Keep on keepin' on :)

day one hundred and seventy six

Let's hear it for the simple things.

Some of you know that we have a lovely herb garden at work. It is somehow the most magical spot where the herbs just love to thrive. The basil in particular has gone a little mental. As I left work tonight I snipped quite a bit of it. Off to Fortino's for some bocconcini. Side note : if you keep track of sodium at all you may be interested to know that bocconcini has ZERO. Yep... zero sodium. Tonight's dinner was aforementioned bocconcini, fresh basil, a lovely field tomato and a sploosh of eevo. Simple and glorious :)

I have explained to Atticus this evening that the fewer moths one eats the less one will barf. (I know... that has nothing to do with the previous paragraph but I thought it wanted mentioning). Next random thought: even tho the weather has been, for the most part, ghastly the sky has been awful pretty. Last random thought for the night - I wish I had better handwriting.

Enough for now... ttyl :)

day one hundred and seventy five

And now for some most excellent words: " A Quick Nine".

 These three little words can certainly turn one's day around. I was having a perfectly good day - alot accomplished and whatnot. Friend Big Jeff shows up at the appointed time and off we go for "a quick nine". Deeeelightful :) Once again I golfed really well (let's keep this in perspective people: I mean really well... for me) and Friend Big Jeff was on fire. Two birdies *delighted golf claps*  I, myself managed two pars and a few bogies so I broke my own record at this particular course. Woot woot.

I can't decide if 25 lbs is the reason I'm golfing better. It only seems to make sense, no? I have certainly golfed better on my first three outings this year than I did on my first three outings last year. There is absolutely a difference in my body movements - I speak of the hips specifically where we girl golfers hold alot of power. I dunno but if other aspects of my life have gotten better, why not my golf game too :)

See you on the links, chums !!!

day one hundred and seventy four

The weather gods looked down today and smiled a little smile. The Big Bike for Heart and Stroke was a crazy amount of fun and only a few sprinkles here and there. It is a terrifically fun thing to do and I urge you to jump on your chance to ride it ! Or ride it twice as I did today :) I have to say we have some of the greatest regulars in the world. People who were just coming in for a quiet beer allowed themselves to be hijacked onto the bike so our team would be big enough. And then a few of them stayed to help out the next team. These are the moments that make yer heart big :)

Waterfit tonight with friend Margie. Ahhhh, the pain of it all. I believe that might be enough in the way of conventional exercise for this week. Hopefully a quick 9 after work tomorrow but that's not exercise... that just plain FUN :)

Keep on keepin' on everyone ...

day one hundred and seventy three

If the muscles at the back of the legs are hamstrings, what are the ones at the front called? I'll just call them thigh muscles and tell you that they are screeching. Gym after work tonight and while I didn't plan on doing any leg work... well it turns out that an exercise bike is, in fact, propelled by the legs. Crap.

I'm not sure we sing the praises of peanut butter often enough. I was so tired after last night's workout, I could only manage a smoothie (no chewing). Tonight, altho tired, I thought I could take in solid food... but what? Here comes a happy little peanut butter sammy to make my day complete. Yes, yes... today's lunch was a whack of veggies... I got it covered. Add in the ridiculous amount of water I drank today and I think we got a whole lotta "give 'er" goin' on :)

Tomorrow we ride The Big Bike for Heart and Stroke... *delighted clapping* It will be crazy fun !!
ttyl

day one hundred and seventy two

EJ tried to kill me tonight but he did not succeed. I live to fight another day (barely).

He keeps coming up with these horrific new exercises that tear me apart. Seriously... at one point tonight I was lying on the floor with my mouth open so wide I looked like a grounded fish, just gasping. Ha HA... I laugh in the face of this torture... I will prevail!!! (kinda sorta)

Needless to say I'm dropping in here tonight before I take a scalding hot bath. I's tired. Going to aim for the gym again tomorrow, but not quite so hard methinks. Seriously 58 days left, pedal to the metal and all that nonsense.

Keep on keepin' on my friends :)

day one hundred and seventy one

Wouldja look at that? Half way there and it only took me 171 days :) I kid, but I'm pretty pleased.

I have, obviously, been thinking alot about the goal or rather the knowledge that I'm not going to make it in the allotted time. At this point I'm not sure another 25 is even something I want to do. Sure... another 10 maybe even 15 but 25??? I guess I worry that I'm shooting for a weight that I won't be able to maintain without some SERIOUS effort. Who knows... maybe Jan1 2012 I'll find myself 50 pounds down. The only thing I know FOR SURE is that I won't be back where I started. Once Aug 19th comes I like to take some time to let my body settle in to the weight it wants to be for awhile. 10 pounds in 2 months seems colossally impossible to me right now but I honestly think it's an achievable target.

We'll see. Right now I just keep on grinding and doing the best I can. I'm pretty proud of myself but here in the last stretch is no time for laurel sitting. It's time to....

GIV' ER :)

day one hundred and seventy

sixty... days... left *gulp*

Met the newest Nesbitt today: Miss Mila. As I've said before I'm not the biggest baby person but this little one is pretty special. It was great to see her being held by her Great Grandmother... "gg" as she's called. Very nice.

On this Sunday night I need to confess that I did not achieve my goal that I set for myself last Sunday night. Drat. So... that one stays in place and gets another goal added to it. Push-ups again (really, still) but I'm adding veggies to the mix. It was positively dis-spiriting to realize how low my veggie consumption had dropped. I know how terrifically important they are but I just can't seem to get them in. I have some terrific cookbooks so maybe that's the trick. I'll peruse them and see if anything catches my fancy... and shouldn't I be grilling them by now anyway :)

day one hundred and sixty nine

Tomorrow there will be two months left *shudder*

Beautiful day today and I got at a long put off chore. I have 3 "sculptures" in my back yard. What they are is the trunks of trees that have been carved. I love them a great deal but they weren't treated with anything and have been looking a bit sad. I went to Canadian Tire today and picked up some Thompsons water seal and painted them up. It was kinda fun and hopefully it'll make them last longer.

Pretty low key day, which was what I needed. Off tomorrow to meet the newest great-granbaby... Mila. A little secret here: I'm not one of those people who go over the moon about babies. Give me a good solid toddler and you have my attention, but infants? They're cute but I don't really get the vapours over them. Still, it'll be nice to see Jesse and Angela and the newest Nesbitt :)

ttyl

day one hundred and sixty eight

A late one tonight.... or early I guess. The birds will be singin' any minute.

Got my veggie groove back today, thank goodness. Mowed and edged the front and back lawns so that took care of my exercise. Definitely a gym day tomorrow tho.
I guess the only big news is the haircut. My, my, my it feels good to have short hair again. I think my face just wants to have a short kicky cut.

I'm obviously grasping at straws here cuz I'm awfully tired. Looking forward to a big sleep followed by a couple days of not much atall.

tty tomorrow (today) with hopefully a bit more excitement :)

day one hundred and sixty seven

It's like I forgotten what vegetables are for. Seriously.... I can't seem to get the veggies in. Fruits, yes no prob, grains, meat, water, dairy... checkcheckcheckcheck, but no veggies. Someone needs to save me from myself.

Very much looking forward to my weekend off. Will there be golfing, lawn mowing, gardening? Who knows... it's all very tantalizing at this point. There certainly will be sleep - that's for darn sure :)

Getting my hair cut tomorrow. I had this idea that my "new look" could include growing out my hair. Dear Lord... I'd forgotten the patience required for such an undertaking. Living thru the seemingly interminable bad hair days. Reminding oneself of the end result. I'm giving in. It might be a suitable project for the winter but even just the couple of hot sticky days was enough to turn me off the experiment. Chopped it is :)

ttyl

day one hundred and sixty six

If you have the opportunity I highly recommend seeing the film version of Stephen Sondheim's Company. I do not recommend sitting in front of yappy dramoids. NPH was exactly right and Patti Lupone tore my heart out. God, she can belt. Sondheim's music is difficult to sing and everybody was spot on... yep LOVED it. Even better tho, was friend Liam. He really enjoyed it and at one point I think was singing a bit. That made my heart a great deal bigger :)

Did you see the moon tonight ? Crazy big. I have to tell you I love my 'hood on a warm summer's night. First there's a kid riding his bike backwards down Barton St. The bike was going in the right direction... he was facing backwards. Very elegant looking move as he actually seemed to be reclining. Then there's the sad hooker in a too tight white polyester chemise-y bit of business. Just trawlin'.

Nothing Project oriented tonight... except my dinner was a Mocha Frappacino and some popcorn. There's the wild side... think I'll walk on it :) Bringing healthy back tomorrow but over all a most excellent today !!

day one hundred and sixty five

Not much tonight. Really a blah-ish kind of day. Work was pleasant, the weather was pleasant, the staf and guests were pleasant. Dear God... I hope I'm not turning into someone who only thrives in chaos... nooooo.

Going to the movies tomorrow night with friend Casey and friend Liam. Silver City has the special events thingie and tomorrow night is the filmed version of Stephen Sondheim's Company starring lots of fabbo folks. I'll be interested in friend Liam's reaction but however he feels about it I think it's pretty cool that his first reaction wasn't (the 14 yr old version of) HELL NO. Cool dude.

I think more of my body than usual was engaged during my golf game yesterday. I figure that accounts for a: why I played better and b: why I am sore as hell today. *YIPES*. Those muscles at the top, back of yer legs... ouch.

day one hundred and sixty four

Most excellent golf day ever. Seriously people... I was on fire. We got rained on for three holes or so but other than that the day was pleasant enough temp-wise. I am honestly over the moon at how well I played. I guess 24 lbs does make a difference :) It might also help that I don't drink copious amounts of beer on the course anymore. I'm that guy who actually thinks I'm going to play better with a couple of beers in me . Uhhhh... no.

That said... not much else tonight. Pretty tired from all the fresh air and looking forward to hitting the sheets. And dreaming of playing golf again soon :)

G'night chums

day one hundred and sixty three

So... I bought a new bathing suit today. After last time's loss of the bottoms at Waterfit I knew it was due. It was fun to try on different models now cuz I have more choice. It turns out tho.... unless I'm missing something, bathing suit trying on is unpleasant no matter what size you are. I think I tried on 10 suits and by the end I was a hot mess. The other unfortunate thing about bathing suits is the inserted bra. Apparently swimsuit makers out there think that if you are a size 14 or above you have a ginormous rack. I do not possess this particular attribute. So there's me and then there's this enormous amount of bra material. *Yipes* I'm assuming the excess braness serves as a flotation device in case of emergency.

Great workout today. I giggle every time I write that. It's true tho. Weird thing is push ups. I have been slacking off on my push ups of late and did I ever notice it today. My first set of 21 I could only do 6. I did my other things and came back for my set of 15. Those I tossed off no prob. The point I'm making here is that on my first set it was actually like my body "forgot" how to do them. I think it goes to show that my legs and core are fully engaged in my day so they retain the muscle memory of how to do the exercises. My arms are apparently useless appendages that hang from my body and serve no purpose. So....

This week's goal : engage the upper body as much as possible. Really work on the push ups. I need to set a (reasonable ) goal for how many I'd like to be able to do in a row. I'm going to shoot for 25 but really aim for 30... wish me luck :)

day one hundred and sixty two

Went to the walk - in clinic this morning. Diagnosis : thrush... just as I had expected.

EXPLICIT CONTENT WARNING *** boy readers may just want to wait til tomorrow. Squeamish girl readers as well...

So... thrush. You wonder what thrush is. Well it's a fungal infection. As women it mostly manifests itself in the form of yeast infections. This particular variety is not treated with vagisil. No, this gets some nasty liquid called nystatin that one swishes and swallows. My mouth is vile. All I can say is... it's a good thing our va-jay-jay's don't have taste buds. My mouth tastes like a rancid pigeon crapped in it and then died. I imagine the only up side Project-wise is that I'm not really eating anything cuz it all tastes the same ... evil.

Alright, enough of that. training tomorrow with EJ so I'm off to swish and swallow and sleep.

ttyl (hey - did ya notice the ticker moved:) )

day one hundred and sixty one

Early post tonight cuz I feel like shit in a shingle. No two ways around it: it's been a tough week and I think it just caught up to me.

The good news is the temp dropped so I'm able to soak in a nice hot tub.
I think I have thrush or something cuz my tongue is covered with a vile coating which has left me with muck mouth since yesterday. I fear sleep is the only cure. I head there now.

Stay well, com padres and talk to you tomorrow...

day one hundred and sixty

70 days left.

I sometimes wonder if I'm going to miss this act of writing every night. I'm certainly going to miss the idea of it, but as for the actual sitting down to do it... ummmm... maybe not. There is a service offered by this site where you can get your blog(s) printed and bound. Like a real live book. This is something I'm thinking seriously of doing. Sort of keeping the historical record, as it were. Also I figure during the long slog that will be maintenance (aka the rest of my life) it will prob'ly be helpful to review the source material when I'm needing some guidance or a remembery of what this felt like. Strangely, I haven't reviewed any of them. I write 'em then move on to the next day. This writing has been valuable to me, no question and who knows... I may start another blog and pick up where this one leaves off :)

ttyl

day one hundred and fiftynine

Well.... I think any day that's starts with a power outage can't be all bad. Crazy start but we got electricity about 10:30 so all was well. Until the humidity descended. Jesus Christ on a cracker it was hot in that restaurant today. Air conditioning? Meh. If I can sit in a puddle of my own sweat at home (as I'm doing now) than I can certainly do it at work. Yep... tomorrow I get that looked at.

No gym today. Turns out 11 hours running around in a sweatbox feels just like exercise. Good day eating but resorted to the trusty peanut butter at dinner. The theory was  to make a nice potato salad to have during the week but the thought of boiling potatoes gave me the vapours so PB it was.

Off now for a ridiculously cold shower then sprint to bed where the industrial floor fan is blowing before my body realizes how stupid hot it is.

Stay cool chums :)

day one hundred and fifty eight

Today was definitely interesting. Lots of stuff accomplished but unfortunately on Bernie's "hurry up and wait" schedule. It works for him but tends to leave the rest of us scrambling. The stink of me right now is appalling. I power sprayed 10 green bins and manged not to miss myself even once. I actually threw away the shoes I was wearing.

Here's the odd thing I've found out about myself lately. First off, my body now hates crappy food. I mean it actually rebels when I shove in something blechy. I'm speaking here of yesterday's pizza from the Westtown. Last night as I was blogging I felt completely gross and this morning... well, suffice to say, bathroom time was not pretty. Was my body so inured to crap  that it just put up with it? I'm sorry body for all the lousy things I did to you.
The second thing I've noticed is that in the old days (before Jan 1 2011) when I was crazy busy I didn't just eat lousy, I ate high calorie, high sugar, high sodium lousy. Now, when faced with the crazy sched I've had lately I'm eating way too little. In trying to eat better we sometimes gravitate to low fat, fat free stuff. If I'm having trouble getting 1200 calories in per day why am I bothering with low anything? Sour cream? yep... full fat. I'm stewing some rhubarb tonight and thought briefly of using Splenda. Honestly... the whole batch takes less than a quarter cup of sugar... so I'm using the friggin' sugar.

Feels good to understand more about what my body wants. I remember when I first started to blog I talked about the little voice that urged me to pick the right things. I think that voice has established itself and I disregard it at my peril :)

ttyl

day one hundred and fifty seven

Went to see Bridesmaids with friend Casey tonight. It has been a long time since I've seen a movie that made me laugh that hard. I'm going straight to the two thumbs up :)

Another tragic eating day that has only served to reinforce how much I enjoy eating well. I honestly feel like a bucket of shite right now. *Geez* Lesson learned.

Lots to do at the restaurant tomorrow as we're shutting half a day for repairs. I'm looking forward to it, but mostly I'm looking forward to hitting the gym after that. Yep... you read that right - I'm actually looking forward to some gym time. Check for pods !!

Keep on keepin' on y'all :)

day one hundred and fifty six

Well that's the back end of another Buskerfest. Thank God. Tremendous Fri. and Sun. with a bit of a dip on Sat. As always I'm terrifically proud of my team :)

Today's eating was tragic. Got off to a good start with some oatmeal but there was no time til I got home at 7 then I was just too tired. Back to work for 10 and the after party so I'm just zonked.

Looking forward to the movies with friend Casey tomorrow. Is it wrong that I'm already getting excited about popcorn ?

On this Sunday night I'm looking forward to sensible eating, quality exercise and a whole heap of sleep in the upcoming week. Also I'd like to lose a pound or two ;)
G'night y'all !!

day one hundred and fifty five

75 days left *yipes*

Thought we were in for a twister today and it did indeed rain like heck. Luckily it was strong but short-livedso Busker wasn't washed out. Would have preferred the temp be a bit higher but... at least it wasn't raining. Busy enough day... thanks for asking :)

I think I'm going to try another calorie cycle next week... mostly just because I can. Back to the gym and see if I can go from 2 abs to 4.

Obviously the tank is pretty empty tonight, so I'm going to slip into the hot bath I'm drawing, read the chick lit friend Heather lent me and off to bed. One more day of Buskerfest... wheeeee

day one hundred and fifty four

I love that one of our nation's great symbols graces my front yard (not a beaver, not a Tim Horton's franchise) but enough with the Maple keys already. Seriously, fall off the frickin' trees already and be done.

No exercise today unless you count going up and down the stairs at the Cactus 4000 times. I swear... 4000 at least! All was prepared for the Buskerfest, now it just needs to hum along at its own special rhythm and be done.

So thrilled to have tuna salad for lunch today. Sometimes I think people would find it cool to work in a restaurant and eat restaurant food everyday. Let me tell ya... it wears thin.The thing that is cool is that all I need to bring is the can of tuna. Need some celery? Chopped and waiting. Green onions... same. A little dry mustard powder to zip that up... yup.

Bedtime cuz it's all busker all day tomorrow...
ttyl

day one hundred and fifty three

What a full day I had :)

Terrific lunch at Bangkok Spoon with friend Heather. So yummy. Friend Heather is a true inspiration to me. She is working so hard on her weight loss journey and is just kickin' it. Makes me want to be better... but not so much better that I join her at the gym at the ungodly hour of the morning she goes :)
I stopped at the Canadian Tire to buy a replacement reel for my WeedEater but a very handsome firefighter convinced me I could refill the old one myself at half the cost with three times as much line. I didn't believe him but his handsomeness persuaded me , so I bought it.

Off home to mow the back yard... mow, thresh... whatever. After the mowing I attempted to replace the line in my WeedEater. Whattya know, handsome firefighter was right. I'm so DIY :)

Next stop friend Margie's so we could go to Waterfit. Ah Waterfit... I'd forgotten how much i loved you. What I did not love was losing my bathing suit bottoms cuz they are just too large. *Yipes*. O.K. so I gotta buy a new suit. There are worse things.

I'm off now to sleep the sleep of the just before the big weekend begins. I'm there all weekend folks... so if you're hitting Buskerfest be sure to drop by and say hi.
ttyl

day one hundred and fifty two

Well... I'm as ready for Buskerfest as I'm likely to be. Glad to have tomorrow off to recharge before the big weekend. Going to stock my office with cans of tuna, and healthy things so I make sure to get some good eating in.

I know it's day 152 but I'm tired of thinking and talking about weight loss. I think what I'm really tired of this this gd plateau. I know it's just a "body getting used to it" phase but it's pissing me off. I just want my body to do what I want it to. Stupid, I know, but true none-the-less. I've worked hard and I think I'm going thru a pissy, self pity phase. I'll come round but tonight I'm just grumpy. 

Off for a cool bath and an attempt to shave my legs in spite of the sunburn... seriously -they're nasty :)
Keep on keepin' on y'all. I know I'll be back in fighting trim tomorrow :)