day two hundred and twelve

At JFK now waiting to return home. I'll fill you in on all the deets of this amazing weekend tomorrow. Manana :)

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day two hundred and eleven

Saturday this is. A tossload of shopping and dinner at Tom Collichio's Craftbar. Tremendous food and service.

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day two hundred and ten

Such a remarkable day. An amazing Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met. Creativity for days. A bit overwhelming at times to be honest. A wee nap followed by a truly top 5 dinner at Spice Market. It was like I was tasting those flavours for the first time. Stunning :) Day one of my surprise birthday trip ... super success :)

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day two hundred and nine

No time... I'm on my way to New York !!!

 I'll fill you in later... just know that I am humbled and blessed to be friends with some of the greatest people on earth :)

day two hundred and eight

So there I was at the Foodcourt in Limeridge Mall. My excellent breakfast had long since worn off and I knew I wasn't getting more food til much later. Still haven't got it as a matter of fact... soon - yummy salad. Anyhoo... there I am just wandering in a sort of foodaholic daze. Chinese, Thai, pizza, oh dear Lord... KFC. I eat KFC about once a year to remind myself that it's about the vilest substance on earth. Would today be the day ? I have honestly never spent so long just aimlessly wandering. Out of the corner of my eye I spot the Subway. 6 inch ham sub on 9 grain with a tossload of veggies and a bottle of water. I swear angels started to sing. That, my friends, is what people in my community call an NSV. Non scale victory. I beat the food court and I feel great. Not to mention I bought a wee little denim skirt and a pair of shorts from my friend Eddie.

A word about my friend Eddie. You may know him as Eddie Bauer. Eddie understands that big girls want to dress well too so he started making his clothes in XXL. Like a 1X in the plus size (least favourite phrase) fashion world. Well, Eddie saw me thru alot of events that I needed nice clothes for, and I appreciate him for that. The last pair of shorts he sold me were a size 18. Today he sold me a pair of size 14. And if I make it to my size 12 goal I'm sure he'll sell me those too :)

day two hundred and seven

A good today :)

Surprisingly, working out with EJ was actually fun tonight. Not fun like how may oreo centers can I stuff in my mouth at one time but fun like, Holy Crap I can't believe how strong I'm getting. Some of the stuff is, of course, still ridiculously hard - I lookin' at you plank rows - but I never thought I'd love squats. Goblet squats no less.

Day off tomorrow and theoretically golfing with Robert. I say theoretically cuz I love the guy a ton but he can be pretty flaky. Big weekend off coming up and I have Sunday covered for golf but I'm going to have to go trawling for Monday.

You know those days where you just feel "right"? You're in the right job, hangin' with the right people, just lots of right goin' on. This is the day I'm having. The challenge, I think , is when the days don't go right you have days like this to reach back to and know... o.k. it'll be right again soon enough :) I don't have these days all the time so I'm revelling in this one. Weird part? Nothing really special happened... everything was just... right :)

day two hundred and six

It is seriously fun to come home and hop on the treadmill. Apparently because it's in my basement I've loosened up the dress code considerably. Yep, bra and shorts only. LOVE it !!

Completely unrelated to anything, I just saw a posting on Facebook of 60 portraits of newly married gay couples in New York. So touching. A couple of the photos really bring home how unjust the no gay marriage law was, particularly photos of elderly couples. How long did they have to wait for the state to recognize a long term relationship ? Check out the photos if you have a chance. Other news today that effected me more than I thought it would was Jack Layton's announcement of his leave due to health reasons. Vote for who you want but I don't think anyone can really underestimate Jack's level of passion and commitment. What a wretched turn of events after shepherding the NDP to such great results. Most troubling for me is how he looked at the press conference. Gone was the hale and hearty (and quite frankly sexy) politico, replaced with a terribly frail man. I watched my father waste like that and can only say a prayer for Jack that his journey is full of love and family. He's in my prayers.

I hadn't intended to talk about any of that tonight, but I guess what's on yer mind might as well be on the page:)

Stay well, my friends

day two hundred and five

If I was better at math I could figure out how many Sundays I've sat down to think about my upcoming week . What I do know is that I only have about three left. Seems impossible that the time has flown this quickly.

Here's the great thing about having wicked friends who need to store stuff in your basement: sometimes some of the stuff is cool. Friend Sara is moving into smaller digs and is storing a bit of her stuff here. Not much really - just bits and bobs. I mean, I could still hold a square dance down there. Two items are of particular interest to me. There's an exercise bike. Yes... interesting enough but... holy crap - a fully tricked out treadmill. Serious business this. All the bells and whistles and oh so much fun. Turns out I will go on a treadmill if it means I can do it in my pj's. Got up this a.m. and right after coffee set off for a 20 minute walk. While I do have a perfectly good dog who also enjoys walking, as I've lamented before, those walks are purely recreational. It's hard to build up any speed with Vito checking the news on every post. It was great fun, very sweaty and seems like something I could repeat.

Which segues me nicely into today's "what should next week look like" segment. The upcoming week should involve lots of cardio, I've got EJ on Tues. for the strength training, and water, water, water. I think I inadvertently did my body alot of good this week with the ridiculous amount of water I took in. Of course, that was just to stave off heat stroke, but I'm pretty sure the agua was the reason for the ticker move :)

Have a wicked week and I'll ttyl :)

day two hundred and four

Taking a bit of my own advice from yesterday and posting a bit earlier. I certainly feel fresher :)

I had the most amazing dinner tonight. I don't usually go into this kind of detail but I gotta tell you it was crazy good. Pete decided that with the heat and all he's make a cold special for dinner. On spring mix, he's put candied almonds, blueberries, roasted peaches, roasted tomatoes, goat cheese and a ridiculously good honey balsamic vinaigrette. Of course I had to bring one home. It was REDONKULOUS. I tracked it in my MFP and the whole (crazy big, very filling) salad came out to about 200 calories. I mention this because alot of people freak out when they know I (try to ) limit myself to 1250 calories a day. Everybody's got an opinion and the majority on this one is... "it's impossible" or "you're just starving yourself". Quite obviously I'm not starving but more to the point, if you're eating great, healthy, flavourful food you can get in a shitload for not alot of calories. I had a great breakfst today (Dorset muesli and organic yogurt -320 cals) a lovely lunch (our hamburg with no bun and sauteed mushroom - 415 cals) and my terrific dinner (200 cals) So that comes out to 935 cals roughly. That means I have 315 cals left to play with. And I'm gonna !!

There is absolutely a Haagen Daz Ice cream bar in my future :) Holy crap I love healthy eating !!
p.s.... did ya notice the ticker... yep... moved :)

day two hundred and three

After 203 days it finally occurred to me that I picked the wrong time of day to write this blog. Too often I feel that I'm complaining how tired I am. Today is no exception.... I'm wiped.

How delightful it is after a hot, exhausting day to come home to AC and complete calm. I went to Zeller's to buy some shorts for work that actually fit me and guess what they're not selling. Shorts. Apparently in Zeller's World if you haven't gotten your shorts by mid April yer not gittin' any. This means I will continue to wander around work for a few days more hiking up my shorts  and looking like I'm wearing a tragically full diaper. I did, however, buy a book at Zee's and have been enjoying the quiet and the couch.

It's been much too hot to exercise (right? right?) but boy howdy have I been jamming in the water. This may prove beneficial as I am currently hoping to make that effing ticker move from 25 to 30 in the scant days I have left. Somehow it comforts me to think I can end up at  not just  halfway but just above halfway. Small victories, I guess, are what keep us pressing on :)

Have a great weekend and for God's sake stay cool and HYDRATE !!!

day two hundred and two

Here's what's funny... yesterday I thought I was hot. That was not hot. Today was hot. Today was working in a restaurant with malfunctioning air conditioning. Today... today was hot.

I'm still at work and it's still hot. As usual this has impeded my brain function so you might as well stop reading now cuz it's not going to get any better.
My countdown clock keeps counting down. I know that's it's function but it's still slightly alarming. It went so slowly at the beginning and now it's going with the speed of light. *yipes*

I'm still trying to sort out how I feel about the Project being almost done. How I feel about not achieving the set goal. The goal stopped mattering quite awhile ago but I still have a little sigh that I didn't get there.

It's too hot to think about this tonight but I'll be getting back to it soon :)

Stay cool, my friends !!

day two hundred and one

I'm posting from work tonight cuz a) I'm here closing and b) I think by the time I get home my brain will be melted.

Gosh it's been hot here tonight. But that's not news so I'll stop talking about it.

The most wonderful thing that happened today was the appearance of an old friend on my front door (eventually). I don't think my house is hard to find but maybe it is... Anyhoo catching up with Friend Jimmy just lifted my spirit immensely. The kid always makes me smile :)

Even with the heat I did some stellar eating today. Makes me happy. Alright ... gotta stop now cuz the brain is done, overheated, melted to goo... arggggghhhh

day two hundred

Well... here I am in the final stretch. 30 days to go.

Got the first real sunburn of the summer today. I've been out in this vicious sun alot but always wearing a golf shirt. Today went out to Myer's pool and kicked it in a bathing suit. You know how easy that is: hanging in the water all day not thinking of the sun jammin' down on ya. Paying for it tonight. Lots of aloe being spread around here.

 Mom and I went to Myer's in the first place to see the new baby miniature horse. Yes, the miniature horse (named after an apple I can't remember... not Mac, not Mutsu... anyway) had a baby three days ago (named Abigail, which I don't believe is a type of apple). Smaller than Vito this baby horse is and running around like crazy. So adorable you think your heart might break to look at her :) We swam for awhile then figured we needed some lunch so for a change of pace (and cuz we were close) we went to Copetown Woods. Best grilled salmon avocado wrap evah !! Haven't played there yet but here's a cool thing - the first page of this menu is ALL BROCCOLI. Turns out Mr. Forth is apparently The Broccoli King and the reason the course is so well irrigated is actually cuz there's so much broccoli. Who knew??

So the best part about swimming today was actually the bathing suit part. I'm really quite used to feeling mortified in a suit. These days... not so much. And that feels AWESOME :)

day one hundred and ninety nine

Well that's ominous... almost at 200. Almost at the end.

Got to catch up with an old friend today and it was delightful. Not for the first time I'm thrilled when you don't talk to somebody for awhile, then yer gabbing on the phone and it's like you spoke yesterday. This makes me happy :)

Been feeling a little nostalgic lately, I suppose the of the big old birthday coming up. Brad says all the "zero" birthdays come with their own challenges. It's funny, I was a complete mess on my 30th and completely sailed thru my 40th. This one I imagine is going to fall somewhere in the middle . It just doesn't seem all that possible that in a month I'll be "in my fifties". Yeah, yeah 50 is the new 40 but holy crap... it's 50 y'know.

I have been less than diligent about my Project habits for the past few days. For some reason this weekend felt like a celebratory one and I just went  with it. I think I'm far enough into the Project now not to freak out about it. It's just a couple a days and if I'm looking for a reality check I'm training with EJ tomorrow. That aughtta do it :)

day one hundred and ninety eight

My sporty weekend continues. Today was a Blue Jays game. With the exception of the loss to the Yankees it was pretty much  a perfect day. Beer and sunshine is indeed a terrif combination.

It's Sunday so I should be pondering my week but quite honestly I'm a little bit drunk and a whole lotta tired so I don't have much ponderin' in me. I think I want to give it all I've got for the next wee while so I'm gonna focus on that.

I hope y'all are taking advantage of this glorious summer weather. Keep on keepin' on chums :)

day one hundred and ninety seven

Much like drunk dialing, I think blogging is an exercise to avoid when loaded. This is why you're reading a fresh, bright early Sunday morning post instead of a late, drunken post from yesterday.

Osk Kee Wee Wee !! Had a tremendous time at the Ticats game. Gorgeous sunny day and a HUGE win by the Tabbies. Being at Ivor Wynn Stadium is like immersing yourself in the stereotype pool. They're all there for the watching and they all love the Ticats. That's worth the price of admission alone and sometimes it has to be when the boys aren't playing very well. No worries there yesterday. They completely dominated (33-3) and fun was had by all.

So...much...beer!! I had the most excellent time with Friend Pete. We decided kind of organically that this would be a mid-summer celebration of how well work was going. Crazy fun :)

Today it's off to the Jays game to hopefully watch them grab one from the Yankees. I anticipate more beer and more fun. Lucky girl :)

day one hundred and ninety six

I'm almost done being tired. I think one more big sleep and that should put an end to it.

Off to the Ticats game tomorrow. V excited. I'm looking forward to a very hot day, with lots of cold beer and a big win from the Tabbies. I think the thing I like best about the way my life runs now is that I don't need to feel guilty about the "cold beer" part. I have integrated this healthy life stuff in such a way that I can include the not so healthy stuff. Just not on so regular a basis as before :)

Went to the driving range after work to practise the things the pro taught me yesterday. I think I'm kinda gettin' it. One thing I do know for sure is that my swing would be less complicated without the boobage. Seriously, the best shots I took tonight were when I was squeezin' the hell out of the girls. (On a side note I wonder if a female golf pro would give me any different pointers *hmmm*) Oh well... if it gets me to 100 I'll try anything :)

Have a great weekend and I'll fill you in on the big win tomorrow.

day one hundred and ninety five

Today I found the wall and hit it. Dear Lord... I feel like a crash test dummy and the airbags did not deploy. Too much going on and not enough sleep. I'm all good with that cuz it's summer and all and it should be busy but my body just said nope... not doin' it.

I had to cut my training with EJ short tonight cuz I was so tired and unfocused I actually hurt my shoulder. Not a big hurt but big enough to realize that I was capable of injuring myself tonight so it was time to stop. Maybe the wisdom of age is knowing that altho your ego wants to power thru the sensible part of your brain is the one you should be listening to... so I did.

In exciting news I get to have my first hot bath in weeks tonight. When I returned home central air was pulsing thru my house so I'm actually a little bit cold. *giggle* I'll reset it to a sensible temp but the fellas left it at 71 so I'm actually going to luxuriate in a delightful hot bath before going to bed and curling up in my duvet. Glorious :)

day one hundred and ninety four

Just realized I'm closing in on day 200. Weird :)

Nothing too exciting to report. It's just past 4 a.m. and I've been home from work about an hour. Theoretically I should be in bed cuz I have AC coming tomorrow at 8:30. Oh yeah baby... me and the livestock will officially have air conditioning tomorrow. I'm pretty pumped. Then off to a golf lesson, then off to train with EJ. And I'm not asleep because....

I'm hoping the cooking bug will bite me again soon. Not gonna lie... I've been pretty lazy about the cooking lately. I went thru an adventurous streak and now that's gone kaput. I think the most difficult part of the Project has been the cooking. I understand how important it is to the process but I just don't dig it. This recent hot weather hasn't helped my efforts any. Also, the work sched has been a bit crazy. All valid excuses I think but really, just excuses. I try not to beat myself up too much about anything that has to do with the Project but this is just one thing I know I could (and should) do better.

O.K., the birds are singing full on now so I'm definitely hitting the sheets. ttyl :)

day one hundred and ninety three

It seems that the never ending day has finally ended. Wow... that was long.

I don't know how people commute. I had to travel to Brampton today, wait for 21/2 hours and then return to work. Where it was crazy busy. And the A/C quit. And I left the lid of the thing I got fixed in Brampton in Brampton. Bummer.

On the up side I'm v. excited that I finally have my golf lesson on Thurs. Hopefully this will put me on the road to iron recovery. AND I should have air conditioning in the house by next week. I've never put all that much stock in AC for the home. I grew up without it but holy crap... it's just hotter now. Also the nice folks from Environment Canada are calling for this to go on for the next three months. *gasp* So AC it is :)

Off to the showers and I'll catch y'all tomorrow. I'm closing so my ramblings may be comin' from the Cactus... ttyl :)

day one hundred and ninety two

It might just be too hot to think. I know it's not that hot but it's really stuffy in my little office cuz I put the desk in front of the window and, quite cleverly... I can't reach the window *arghh*

Good day today food-wise but I got diverted from the gym after work. I think if I was dedicated enough nothing could divert me but, alas, such is not the case.

The only thing for it is a ridiculously cold shower and straight to bed. Hot makes me tired. And no, I do not want any cheese with my whine... I'm counting calories :)

day one hundred and ninety one

Ahhhh, Sunday :)

Had a terrific day. Even with some questionable, verging on tragic, golf shots I managed to record a new personal best. 108 !! Pretty effin' pleased with myself, I gotta tell ya. Can 105 be far behind?

After that I scooted to mom's for Chinese takeout. Since I went the entire day on one measly granola bar I was pretty hungry. I'm not sure I ever remember Chinese food tasting so good. And (woot woot) I have leftover beef and broccoli for lunch tomorrow. During strawberry season mom makes the most glorious cake. Did she have one made? Yes she did! Did I enjoy the hell out of it? But of course. (Add a cheesy French accent there would ya? )

I'm not sure I've mentioned this before but I told my mom that for my birthday I'd like her to pick out her favourite photo of me and have it framed. Because my mother is incapable of holding on to her biggest surprises ... there is an actual physical danger she will burst... she presented me with said photo tonight. It is a black and white photo of my dad and me. I'm probly 2 years old and my dad is reaching down to steady me. We must be heading to church cuz Dad is lookin' sharp and I'm wearing a dress with a wee hat, patent leather shoes and white gloves. Needless to say... I was in floods.

With 39 days left in the Project I was thinking this week's goal might as well be to hit it as hard as humanly possible. Why not? I have come to understand that what started as a little fun thing won't stop on Aug. 19th. That said... since I've only got 39 days left - why not give 'er??

Have a tremendous week everybody and keep on keepin' on :)

day one hundred and ninety

40 days left *gulp*

How can there possibly be only forty days left til I turn 50. 20 minutes ago I was 30 the instant before that I was 13. Holy crap. I think there's a blog post in my future where I wax philosophic but not tonight. Not tonight.

Quiet day at work followed by a dismal nine holes of golf. Dismal I tells ya :(  The only bright spot is that my driver now has a wonderful new tiger paw cover. This truly makes up for a variety of ills. Golfing at a new course tomorrow and hopefully I'll have some zing back in my swing. Don't think I could stand an entire 18 holes of that nonsense.

Off to shower and clean my golf shoes. At least I can look good, right :)

day one hundred and eighty nine

I often joke that I'm getting older and the people I work with are perpetually 23. What I mean , of course, is that my working life has been spent for a very long time in the company of servers.

They are a fascinating breed of people. Sometimes I think their collective noun would be "whine": a herd of cows, a school of fish, a whine of servers. I was one of these people so I know of what I speak :) The most remarkable thing about them, tho, is that by and large they're working as servers to fund some other passion. I have seen kids become teachers, performers, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. Many find their passion in being terrific moms and dads.
Last night I had the privilege of attending an art opening for one of my current servers. Lara is a gifted photographer and she had a show at the James St. Art Crawl. It was wonderful. I'm always so proud that I get to play a (small) part in helping these kids pursue what they love.

On a side note... if you haven't been to the James St. Art Crawl, it happens every second Friday and it's awesome. G'wan down there :)

day one hundred and eighty eight

Oops... lost a day. Laid down on the couch last night and slipped into a wee coma. Woke up just in time to shuffle myself off to bed. Guess I needed some sleep :)

Here's the question of the day anyway... where do fruit flies go? I put some strawberries out on the counter and went outside to play with Vito. When I returned (say a half hour later) there were fruit flies everywhere. I cleaned up the area, put the strawberries in the fridge and wandered off to check something on the computer. Came back into the kitchen seriously ten minutes later and the fruit flies were gone. Just disappeared... where did they go? And where are they hiding that they can appear so quickly once the fruit is left out. It's kinda creepy.

Looks to be another scorcher of a day so off for a cool shower then to work. One of my staff is having some work in tonight's art crawl and I'm looking forward to seeing it . This is why I love servers. They are quirky people who tend to have some other passion that the serving job pays for. How cool is that :)

day one hundred and eighty seven

Not a heck of a lot today.

Busywork at work, if that makes any sense. Busywork is what you do when there aren't alot of guests around. Today's busywork was that I purchased a new washer we desperately needed. Bought and delivered on the same day... damn I'm good.

Too hot to eat today so bologna sandwiches for all. Couldn't even organize a salad *shrug* Ah well, tomorrow brings fresh chances to do right :)

Sleep now... ttyl

day one hundred and eighty six

Today I went to purchase a new golf outfit. Mostly because I had money left on a gift card but also cuz I loves me some cute golf clothes. (sidenote: how come I feel perfectly cute in a golf skirt but would never dream of wearing a skirt that short at any other time... hmmm) So, let me tell you how uplifting it is to go into Golftown, pick up a size 14 and not wonder if it's going to fit :) Well, I kinda wonder but what I'm wondering is... will it be a bit too loose *insane giggle* Yep, fabulous new golf skirt (and maybe matching top *wink wink*) came home with me :)

Worked out with EJ tonight and it was almost fun... almost. It turns out that I'm sort of an odd worker outer. Seems that the rest of his clients get less strong on the final reps. Turns out I get more strong. Even did extra stuff tonight cuz I could. Go figure...

Feelin' really good these days. I guess it might just be summer finally arriving. Just strongly feeling all of the blessings that are in my life. The straight up blessings and the ones I have to dig a little deeper to find. Feels like it's all coming together *contented sigh*

day one hundred and eighty five

Sometimes something unexpected happens.

I was excited to golf (again) today and was going to a new course. That's a bit of apprehension for me cuz I always wonder... will it be nice, in good shape, harder than I could possibly handle?  Then there's the pairing up with two complete strangers for the next 41/2 to 5 hours of your life. Are they going to be really good, which will mortify me cuz I hate the idea of holding anybody back. Ya see... for you non-golfers there's alot of thought that goes into this. Well - that part might just be me *shrug*. Anyhoo, off we went to play Brant Valley and it was absolutely grand. The course is gorgeous, in fairly good shape (mother Nature has been pretty vile to most of the localish courses) and not too crazy hard for me. The most pleasant surprise was the couple we were paired with : lovely people. Also handy that they had played this geographically tricky course before and could fill us in. They were delightful.

So... it's just before 11 and I'm blogging. This is pretty much my normal blog time but there's a difference. I'm at work tonight and I'm holding on to the "wake" state by the slimmest of threads. I thought the blogging might keep me awake. But now I'm almost done this post and will have another 2 hours to try and maintain consciousness... wish...me...luck :) That said, I wouldn't trade a terrific day of golf  for some silly old not tired-ness... it's all good :)

day one hundred and eighty four.

I gotta say... this has been the most pleasant holiday weekend I've had in a long time :)

Golf today was spectacular. The weather was superb and the company was grand. Did I shoot my 110? Ummm... kinda, sorta. See - I TOTALLY did if you don't count the penalties. I had about 7 of the little effers so my final score was 117. Interesting tho... usually I have a pretty good front nine and fall to bits on the back. Today I actually shaved a stroke off on the back. Woot woot... LPGA card here I come. Is there a Champions tour for the gals ??

In keeping with the Project I just gotta say that golfing is the most excellent way to get the exercise. According to my MFP I burned something like 1200 calories (pulling clubs) and I'm all good with that. Makes me feel a tad less guilty about the 2 1/2 pints of Rolling Rock :)

More golf tomorrow before my close shift. That will be interesting :)

Here it is Sunday which is  the night I generally ponder the week ahead. Last week's goal turned out to be so much fun I think I'll just repeat it... and I quote... 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 :)
Alright kittens... off we go !!!

day one hundred and eighty three

On nights when I close the day seems a bit of a blur.

 Think it was a good day... not much exercise but good on the eating front. I'm pretty excited to play golf tomorrow and fingers crossed it will be the first dry day I've been out this season.

It certainly was summer today. Prob'ly not good karma to complain about the heat since I complained so hard about the cold and wet. Hoping that the performances of earlier have not been a fluke. It would make me crazy happy to shoot 110. Here's hoping :)

Enjoy the last bit of yer holiday weekend !!

day one hundred and eighty two

So I'm driving home from a very busy Canada Day, pull into my driveway and realize that I have a perfect view of the Bayfront Fireworks from my front lawn. It was like a wee bonus on top of the already terrifically fun Canada Day festivities.

Friend Theresa's party was alot of fun. Very nice folks and decorated exactly the way you'd want. Very high cheese factor but very sincere. It makes my heart big. The party at the Cactus was also terrific with lots of great energy. A good time.

Closing tomorrow night so I get to have a bit of a lie in. I forgot I was closing so I did all of my yardwork today, which means I can sit out the back tomorrow with my paper and my coffee and not be appalled by the state of the lawn. Woot woot :)

Hope you've all had a tremendous Canada Day and got your own version of bonus fireworks !!