Sunday morning already...

Hmmm...last weekend felt much longer. Oh, that's right...I took Monday and Tuesday off, and with Wednesday a Stat day, I enjoyed a loverly 5-day weekend. If only that kind of work schedule could support my current income! That would be sweet!!

Returned to Boot Camp on Thursday, only to find out that due to legal issues, I am not allowed inside the building where we work out (I'm not staff!), so we had to move it outside to the local park. Which I'm fine with, as I prefer working out outside, but the other ladies weren't quite prepared for that. It'll be interesting to see what happens on Tuesday. Felt it in my arms and shoulders again, but the best part was the running. to quote Forrest Gump..."Ah was r.u.n.n.e.n!!"...first time since the first week in October. I was thrilled!!! Kept it nice and slow, and both Trainer Josh and I kept very close eyes on my ankle. Walked like a normal person on Friday, so it's all good!

After coffee with the girls yesterday, H-woman and I headed up to Canmore to get a pedicure. We went back to the place we went to after Melissa's, because they were so nice and did such an awesome job. How awesome? Well, the pedi done on the 25th of September was finally cleaned off and redone YESTERDAY!!! No chipping, no fading (and I had a really dark colour on), just some regrowth. It was fabulous...so back we went. We arrived a little late (oops...need to plan that better next time - hit every light coming out of Calgary, and I just don't drive like a maniac anymore on the highways), but the ladies were very professional and got the job done. We'll be going back I'm sure in January. Or, if the Lottery Gods could just come through for me (I pray to them every day!), I could finally buy a place and live in Canmore full time...that would sweet!

Headed briefly into Banff (bought a Park Pass last weekend, so we're good for a year) to go to the Rocky Mountain Soap Company's open house. They were introducing their Christmas mix of Mandarin Orange and Candy Cane. Didn't care much for Candy Cane, but the orange is amazing...slightly spicy and very orangy. Came home with a bar of shaving soap (peppermint and clay), the Mandarin Orange Sugar Scrub, a Mandarin Orange chap stick, and then our free gift of another chap stick and the Mandarin Orange soap. It's all natural stuff, and although my sinuses can go crazy in places like that (Bath and Body Works is hard...), it's not so overwhelming in there.

Shared a plate of nachos in the Rose & Crown...Banff must be the Nacho Capital of Canada...man, they were good! Proper ratio of cheese to chips to peppers and other vegs. Yum, yum. yum. Back into Calgary - even though it was 6:30 in the evening, with the mountains and nightfall, it may as well been midnight!! Pitch black on the highway - and considering, sadly, because of unfortunate incidents in the past, you have to watch for PEDESTRIANS (yes, I said pedestrians, not wildlife) on the highway, it makes for a slightly unnerving night drive. Made it home safely.

Dropped H. off, and then had to go get my mom, and take her to see my dad at the hospital. They called 911 yesterday for him (he has COPD, and has been struggling of late) which I am happy about. It's probably been a good solid 6 months since he's even left the house, and means he hasn't been seeing a doctor. Stubborn old coot!!! And then people wonder where I get it from...anyway, he's where he needs to be and they're keeping him for a few days. Which is good...they can get his meds sorted out, and try to come up with a plan that doesn't include him sitting in his lazy boy, waiting for death. Heading there later today. I have to drive mom, as her Alzheimer's makes it difficult for her to drive to new areas - she gets lost and she's the passenger. Remember how I said I had no desire to have children??? Well, I have two...in their 70's. You will also notice that neither of my brothers are getting these phone calls, and are on driver duty, etc. I'm just sayin...

Called my older brother, and found out he's got his own issues to deal with. He was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis (man, my family is falling apart!) years ago, when the disease attacked his lungs. He's now scheduled for an MRI next week, as the doctors now think it's moved to his heart. Crap... This is not good news, as I don't know if he's a good candidate for heart/lung transplant. Double crap... We'll wait to see what the doctors say, but as is in my brother's fashion, I'll have to follow up with him, as he shares nothing!

Okay...so I've started out a Sunday in fine form. Going to head to the Farmer's Market later, to stock up on fresh fruit and veggies for the week. Planning out my meals, and committing to journalling this week. I was up slightly (1.4) yesterday at meeting, but that's just evening out the big loss the week before, thanks to the flu. However, I know I can improve in the journalling department, so that's my plan for this week. Going to weigh in early, on Thursday, as it's my Christmas party on Friday, and I will have no desire to leap out of bed at 6 am to go to a 7 am weigh-in on Saturday!!

Finishing my latte and a bowl of Kashi Wheat squares, banana and Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (love it on cereal!). Going to get dressed and ready, as H. and I are aiming to head out about 11.

Hope this finds everyone happy and healthy...

Later,

Starting to feel it...

Muscles that is. Feeling it in my hamstrings, shoulders and back. Yay Boot Camp and Trainer Josh!

Thought I'd share some photos of H-woman's Epicure party - she's well on her way to a huge shopping spree, courtesy of her friends who attended. Somehow though I ended up with the leftovers (I ALWAYS leave them with the hostess, usually to take to work the next day and therefore make more sales, but alas, H. is on vacation right now) which I have incorporated into my lunches/dinners. Last night, for example, was some soft tortillas with the nacho cheese dip...lunch was leftover spinach dip and the loaf it was in. Today, I mixed the rest of the crab dip (there wasn't a lot left of that!) with some chopped artichoke hearts, spread it on toast and sprinkled it with a bit of parm. Yum! Going to fill on veggies tonight though, as I'm making a healthy Pad Thai.

1) the spread - Crab dip, wine & pepper jellies, nacho cheese dip, spinach dip.

2) Extraordinary Cheese Dip in our non-stick frying pan - to freaking die for!!!!

3) Orange Cranberry Biscotti, dipped in our Belgium White Chocolate

4) Our Belgium Milk Chocolate...oh, and some healthy, fresh fruit to dip in it!

Went for some retail therapy today...I have been told for weeks that my work clothes are "too big" and falling off (which is not a bad thing!), so off I went to my favourite store, Reitmans. Not sure who picked this fall's colours though...80's Teal??? Seriously??? Oh well, I still managed to come home with 3 new pair of pants (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their comfort fit pants!) all in Tall (again, LOVE THAT!), a nice red tank top, black sweater and grey cardigan (in medium, thank you very much!). Then, wandering through the mall (after an extremely disappointing visit to Payless - really, women with big feet like shoes too...I don't care if your store is "small"), I passed Le Chateau, where the little strapless number in the window caught my eye...and my MasterCard! My Christmas party is next Friday night (OMG, that's just over a week away), and while I had fully intended to wear something from years past, I just like how this felt and looked. Oh yeah...Boot Camp has paid off big time! The burgundy pumps that I have will look hot with this! Really going to concentrate on the arms and back this week - try to tone things up a bit more.

That's it for me...going to spend some time thinking about those men and women who have died so that we have the right to blog freely and without fear of prosecution. I'm sure I'll be crying later, especially when I hear Taps. Always tears a hole in my heart...

Later,

Return to Boot Camp

I DID IT!!!! I resumed a Boot Camp class tonight and IT.FELT.GREAT!!! Okay, so I felt like puking and can't believe how much strength and endurance I've lost in the last 5 weeks, but I so heart the sweating and grunting. It's moved indoors, which I'm not a fan of (remember, I sweat hard, so outside in the fall and winter rocks!) but Trainer Josh had all sorts of new toys and ideas to get the cardio up, even indoors. He's also so awesome, as he's very concerned about my body and it can/can not do. We determined I was okay on the stairs (up and down - great cardio) but could not do the step-ups (onto a chair) so did squats instead. And skipping rope was out of the question (ankle says WTF??), so I concentrated on lunges instead. We worked with resistance bands for upper body (OMG!!!), so I'm pretty sure I won't even be able to comb my hair tomorrow! Can't wait for Thursday!!
Came home and nibbled on some salsa, low-fat sour cream and some of the leftover nacho cheese dip, with whole wheat tortillas. Then I had a bowl of dilly tomato soup (mix one can cream of tomato soup, milk, Epicure Lemon Dilly dip blend and a can of diced tomatoes).
One more day off (took a 5-day weekend) and then back to the grind. Going to start going for walks (just walks) at lunch as well, although I do need new runners, as I'm currently over-compensating between my runners (built for pronators) and orthotics. Hence the very screwed up knees and ankles over the weekend.
I'm hitting the couch, kids...it's been a long day of running around, and now I just want to chill.
Later,

Winterstart Weekend

I have a lot of trouble watching people run...I so want to be a part of it! Winterstart was Saturday night in Banff. Yes, in the mountains, at night (7pm) in Canada in the winter! It was snowing, actually, and looked very pretty. Don't think it was that cold (-2??), but H-woman and I stood at the sidelines and watched the race start...without us.
My foot, while starting to feel better, was not up for an 8km run, and H-woman's flu refused to let go, so she was not able to run. Her man S. was also sick - he stayed up in the room sleeping at race start. And the lady I sold my bib to also didn't make it - the flu is definitely making it's presence felt in Western Canada!! Oh well...next year.
Still enjoyed a nice weekend in Banff. Dinner Friday night, after we checked in to our hotel (Caribou Lodge - very nice) was at The Keg in the hotel. For staying two nights, we got $25 to use in the restaurant - it was a good dinner. Nothing outstanding but the Keg is consistent, and it's been a long time since I've had a really good, rare steak for supper (I just can't cook it properly myself). Walked into downtown for a tea at Starbuck's (guessing we were about a km out from the 'core' of Banff) and then back to the hotel.
Woke up Saturday morning at 7:15 (darn H-woman, she's making me one of those morning people!) only to find out that both H. and S. were sick and were staying in bed. I finally got bored (and hungry!) and got dressed and walked into town. Had a coffee and a scone at Starbucks, and then decided to be a good friend and pick up some supplies at Safeway for the sickies...OJ, tea, chicken soup, crackers, cough drops, etc. Met up with the two about halfway back, and handed over the care package. They went back to their room and I to mine, yet again...but soon I was BORED again! So, strapped on the runners again and wandered around Banff before settling on lunch at the Rose & Crown. It was a little melancholy for me...my first love and I used to love "the Crown" and always ate/partied there whenever we stayed in Banff. He passed away suddenly earlier this year, and because I heard of his passing through the grapevine, I never got the chance to say my goodbye. Worse part is his family thinks I 'ignored' them on purpose and now none of them are speaking to me anymore...lost the whole family at once, really. Anyway, I sat in the pub (yes, by myself...very brave), hoisted a pint to memories and enjoyed a Bison burger (with fries...now how did those get on my plate?). Walked back to the hotel, swinging by a liquor store for more beer (if I'm going to be sitting in my hotel room alone, I may as well enjoy a brew) and then meeting up with H. & S. at Chilis. They made it a couple of blocks from the hotel, and while S. was putting on a brave front (of course I'll be running...) H. and I knew that none of us would be running that night. I wonder of the 1,000 how many didn't run because of the flu going around?
After cheering on the start of the race (so jealous), H. and I went back into the Keg and shared a plate of the best nachos I have ever had. Then we parted ways. Expensive way to spend the weekend...laying on a bed watching TV at $125 a night! But oh well...still enjoyed my mini vacation.
Got up Sunday bright and early and in agonizing pain! My foot, my right knee, IT band, my left wrist, both shoulders! Crap!!!!!! The beds were these amazing pillow top, fluffy things, but I guess my body likes my good old hard mattress! I could barely roll over, and walking to the bathroom was quite the feat! I was getting better...WTF?!?! Could it be that my runners and my orthotics are battling each other for supremacy? Yes, I walked a lot on Saturday, but I certainly didn't put on that many clicks. After some coffee, and painkillers, I decided that I needed to hobble into town, if for nothing else than for more painkillers, and to try and loosen up a bit. It was a very slow walk in (the snow the night before had the sidewalks very icy and slick) and after another coffee and scone, I slowly made my way back to the hotel. H. & S. were both up, had breakfast and were checked out, so I made my way upstairs and finished packing and checked out as well. We had a quick wander around town (after driving down), before heading in Canmore for some lunch. We were too hungry to wait for the Indian restaurant to open up, so decided some fire-roasted pizza was in order. Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company makes the most wicked good pizzas, and they are all healthy - they are not dripping in fat and grease, and they have lovely combinations like roasted veggies or sweet chili chicken and peppers.
Finally got home (I'm always sad leaving the mountains) and had a brief nap on the couch, before eating the rest of my pizza from lunch and some soup. Was in bed at 9:30, and slept pretty good - some "ow" moments when I tried to roll over, but they are getting better.
Doing laundry today (somehow made it down and up the 3 flights of stairs!) and getting ready for an Epicure party at H.'s house...should be fun!
Later,

Quick post

Whew...so much still to do before I leave for Banff for the weekend. So a quite recap of the week is in order:

Flu - yes, had it and now it has passed. Still have a nagging cough, but that too shall go away. Power of positive thinking and cough syrup!

Positive of the flu: besides the great core/ab workout from said cough, I was down 4.6 at weigh in today! Hello, '80's! A new decade and therefore new daily points allowance of 23. Bring it on!! Fifty is right around the corner.

Despite most of the building being off sick, work has gone very smoothly this week.

Foot/ankle all better - well, at least it feels all better. Final analysis?? Yes, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, but it appears to be in remission right now (all other factors were normal, but RA levels at 79), so we'll deal with it when it flares up next. Foot x-ray revealed odd thickening of one bone, and some spurs/floaters and scar tissue. Not sure from what, since I have never had a cast or broken foot...ever. Odd... But that is what I am...odd! Good news is what ever aggravated the ankle seems to have moved on (could have been a bit of bone in the joint) and I got the all clear from both doctors to return (slowly) to exercise...so that means...

BOOT CAMP ON TUESDAY!!!!!! O.M.G. how I have looked forward to this!!! Can't wait!!!

Heading to Banff with H-woman and her man S., so that they can run the Winterstart 8km. I sold my bib to a friend of H's, so I'll stand on the sidelines and cheer, and help out where-ever I can on the course. It's still a great excuse to go away for the weekend.

Speaking of...have to finish up some last minute tidying and feed the kids. Have a great weekend everyone - see you all Sunday afternoon.

Later,

Taking a (insert cold med name here) day...

Yes, I, she of the "unless it's lopped off, spurting or blue" mentality, has called in sick. Of course, that was after I worked an 3 extra hours yesterday to make sure that everything that needed to be done was done. Sigh... But my head and back are still sore, so I thought a day of rest was in order. It's still just the flu or a nasty cold, by the way. No new symptoms to report.
It was interesting reading some blogs out there about H1N1 and the impact on them and their families. Got my back up a bit, I admit, and after posting a comment (which I hope was neutral), I sat later on the couch thinking about the full impact of this pandemic. We found out at a work meeting yesterday morning that a fellow employee died last week as a result. Very sad and very sobering. Yes, I know people die from other flu's every day, but this is new and therefore a little more scary, and it also seems to be very, very fast. Also heard that there are no ICU beds in my city right now, as they all have people with H1N1 in them. Where do the major car accident (heard a highway was closed this morning because of one...) or shooting or heart attack patients get to go then?? Or my father, with COPD, for that matter?? And then what about blood supply?? Who's donating blood, and what happens when that runs out? While all this was reeling around in my head, the US news station I had on (which by the way, had NOTHING about H1N1 in the whole time I watched it) mentioned that the REGULAR.FLU.SEASON.HAD.BEGUN. D-oh!!! In our panic, we all forgot about good old Influenza B and it's buddies. My question to those people who queued up for hours at a time (and who told all the polls that "they absolutely would not get a shot they knew nothing about") is did they even bother to get the seasonal flu shot?? I'm going to guess not, since when I went to the clinic for that I walked in, got the shot and walked out. No panic, no line-up...well, there were still screaming children, but those are just hard to avoid!
So do I believe we all have to turn into fist knocking, mask wearing, gun-toting, cabin-in-the-woods living hermits? Absolutely not! I like it outside...I like people...I like social interaction, and I don't mean on a computer! But I do think we're buying into the movie plot lines a little too much - we are not going to turn into a bunch of flesh-eating zombies, or all become blind or what have you. The government is not secretly injecting us with GPS devices to track our movements...they're doing their best to stave off a major incident. This, like all other things, will pass. I just hope that all my friends and family are doing all they can to protect themselves, and take care of themselves.
Positive side note of the flu?? Down 6 pounds since Saturday morning! Oh, if only that would last!!!!
Stay safe,

Cold, Flu or H1N1

Came home from work on Friday not feeling well, but chalked it up to running around all day scaring people, not getting enough to eat, etc. By Saturday morning, it was official...I am sick. So what is it? I managed to get the seasonal flu shot two weeks ago, but because I can't just take a day off work to stand in line with a bunch of screaming, bored kids for 8+ hours every day, have not yet got the H1N1 shot (even though I am considered in the high risk category - chronic asthmatic). Guess I'm building my own anti-bodies now!

So, which is it?
- Sneezed like there's no tomorrow all day yesterday, although it was now stopped - cold, not H1N1
-Low grade fever - not a cold, but flu - don't think it got high enough to be H1N1, but it's hard to tell with me, as my temperature is usually a good degree below normal.
-Aches and pains - not bad, so most likely a cold.
-Cough - alternates between hacking and dry, so a bit of both I suppose.
-Stuffy nose - cold
-Chills - have had these, so more likely the flu, but then I also get really hot and sweaty - could just be menopause!
-Tiredness - I'm 46...who isn't tired?!
-Onset time - yes, it hit fast, but I've always caught colds like that...fine in the morning, like death by noon.
-Headache - yes, I've had one, but right now it feels more sinus than head, so we'll chalk this one up to a cold.
-Sore throat - yes, cold not flu.
-And finally, chest discomfort - I'm asthmatic, so I have been very carefully monitoring my breathing and have adjusted my regular meds accordingly - so far the chest doesn't hurt, but the back does from all the sneezing and coughing - yay, more cardio!!!!
So, what have I got?? I'm going with a rather nasty cold or the seasonal flu, not H1N1. If I get worse, than I'll head to the clinic set up here in Calgary just for H1N1 diagnosis, but then again what can they do??? Tell me to go home, drink plenty of liquids, get lost of rest and avoid people. Oh, wait...already doing that! And, to be perfectly honest, I am getting rather sick and tired (no pun intended) of all the H1N1 coverage - there are other things happening in the world right now. Bombings, natural disasters, missing miners, crooked politics, etc. Let's hear a bit about that, shall we?
I did make a wicked good pot of chicken soup last night - that will help me feel much better.

Well, back to my couch and coffee.
Later,