Random randomness...

Calgary was blanketed in a sheet of ice last night...started off as snowballs (my favourite...makes me smile when you get pelted with the little balls of fluff), then snow and then somehow the temperature drop was just perfect enough that by rush hour (THANK GOD I walk to work!!!!), the streets were skating rinks! Roads were being closed all over the city and the outlying highways. I was going to swing by the post office to pick up the latest Epicure package, but decided that I would be safest on my couch with my furbabies!
Dinner was artichokes and tomatoes on pasta. The other night, when I made fish tacos, I only needed a half a can of diced tomatoes. But when I was opening the can of refried beans, I realized too late that it was another can of diced tomatoes! So what to do?? I drained the tomatoes, sauteed some onion, added the tomatoes and a jar of artichoke hearts (in water), some kalamata olives, oregano and rosemary. Tossed it with some whole wheat noodles and feta cheese. Nom, nom, nom!!!!
Woke up bright and early this morning for weight watchers. Even though I was going alone (H-woman had to work) and the other ladies bailed on our usual Saturday coffee, I got up and went out and spent 10 minutes chipping out my car. This did not bode well for the 11km drive! So, sticking to main drags (which were fine), I made it all the way to meeting, only to be greeted by a short hill that was still draped in ice...as I gingerly made my way down, hugging the curb the whole time, I almost witnessed a horrific crash, as car A suddenly realized that he was not going in the direction he intended, causing car B to try to avoid him and bus C avoid the whole mess!!! Oy!!!!
Was up a pound this week, but I decided that is not going to ruin my day or week. I had a good week...I managed to get back out and walk at lunch, boot camp kicked my patootee, and enjoyed an awesome Christmas party to boot. I know I will eliminate this pound in no time, so there's no need to fixate on it. After all, tis the season for excess. I will allow and forgive myself right now for any indiscretions that may come my way.
Bought a new pair of runners yesterday that I am anxious to try out. It's supposed to be a nice day tomorrow, so I think a short run will in order. I've been running with Boot Camp, but that's only for 5-10 minute stretches. I'd actually like to see if I can handle 3 or 4 km. And sweet deal with the shoes...the Running Room had a 15% coupon that is good till tomorrow, so there was $22 off the shoes. And then, because I am a member, and the RR did a member adjustment with our points (you get 'points' every time you purchase something, and then they usually send a gift certificate once every 6 months or so) I ended up with $70 worth of certificates. So, long story short, $150 runners for $60!! My kind of deal!
Tomorrow is Grey Cup, but I am sad, as my team did not win last week. I'll still watch the game, but not with the same level of enthusiasm, and therefore not in a bar (no risk of beer or chicken wings!) or even with munchies here...it'll probably just be on in the background. I am looking forward to half time and Blue Rodeo. Mmmmm...Jim Cuddy is HOT!!!!
Hopefully meeting my great-niece for the first time tomorrow morning too, providing the drive in from Nanton isn't too bad. This will be nice for my parents though, as they will get to meet their great-grandchild. They just can't travel, and I wasn't sure how this meeting would ever happen (not like I'm getting a child-seat into my sports car!). I'm in the mood for some cookies though, so am planning on baking and taking some chocolate chip oatmeal. My mom used to bake the best, but sadly the Alzheimer's appears to have taken away her love of baking. Good thing she passed that on to her daughter!
That's it for me...dinner in (chicken pie) and couch beckons.
Later,

Tight Quads

And, quite frankly, everything else for that matter! Trainer Josh kicked our butts last night...guess he figured since only 3 of us showed up, he was going to make us make up for the 2 missing ladies. Why we have to be punished is beyond me, but it's okay. I will continue to look hot and they will not!!
We started with a 10-minute run...OMG...it's been 2 months since I've been able to run for at least 10 minutes! I was so happy, I'm sure I was grinning like an idiot the whole time. We then moved to the park benches where we did a 4-minute drill. For 20 seconds, we did step-ups as hard as we could, keeping count. Then we rested for 10 seconds and then we repeated - 7.more.times!!!! Thought I was going to lose my lunch...after that, we moved back to the mats for squat thruster drills, lunge walking while doing bicep curls, sumo squats with lat raises, and more lunge walking. More squats, more arm work, shoulder work and then down to the mats for core! It ROCKED!!!
Came home, and was just about to prepare something for dinner when H-woman called. I was heading over to unpack her Epicure order anyway, but she invited me for dinner beforehand. H-woman really is a good cooker!!! Salmon on the BBQ with Korean BBQ sauce, stir-fried veggies (red, orange and yellow peppers, cabbage, carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms) and thick Shanghai noodles with a stir-fry sauce, and for treat afterwards, a mini sponge cake with custard and fruit. I had a very happy tummy, and an awesome helper to unpack her $1,400 party!
But I was out too late, and am very tired today. Managed a good, brisk walk at lunch (ankle was sore today, but I blame that on the lunges - doesn't like the twisting) which loosened things up, but I am seizing again even as we speak. Really feeling it in my shoulders, back, quads...oh hell, who am I kidding. My entire body is stiff right now! But it's a good pain, and I like it!!!
Since I wasn't very organized, I bought brekkie and lunch today, but the deli lady felt so bad that I got "the dregs" of the chicken salad special, I ended up with probably 5 pounds of greens, peppers, tomatoes and shredded cheese! Granted, not a lot of protein, but I still made it till I got home. Snacked on some dip and whole wheat tortilla, and then made a fish taco for supper. Stir-fried peppers, baked Basa fish (with Epicure Taco seasoning and lime juice), goat cheese and pineapple salsa (again, Epicure). Served with a side of refried beans (gotta love the low fat and high fibre!), I am very satisfied now. It was so good I ate it before I remembered to take a picture!! I'll try to take a picture tomorrow, as I managed to save enough for lunch tomorrow.
Off to deliver the latest Epicure order (it's a quick drive) and then I am heading to bed.
Hoping the end of this day finds everyone happy with who they are and what they did!
Later,

Recovery

The head doesn't hurt that bad, although I slept a little later than I had planned. The caffeine and Advil are starting to kick in, so I should be mobile soon enough. You see, yesterday was quite the day.
It started at noon, with a team-building event...we went bowling.

There were about 20 teams, and we did a lane of 5-pin and a lane of 10-pin and then a wacky round of half of each. I now understand why bowling and beer are so synonymous with each other...you definitely need beer to bowl!!! After an afternoon of bowling (my ankle and arthritic wrist did not enjoy it at all!), brewskies and the greasiest, deep-fried food ever (seriously, the only vegetables were the tomato sauce on the very cheese-laden pizzas and the zucchini under the deep-fried batter - blech), I rushed home to get ready for our company Christmas Party.

I think I clean up okay...it's just too bad it was so dark in the room...you can't see my funky "almost black" brown hair and short, sassy style. Oh, and the dress?? Totally rocked it!!! I got so many compliments, and owe it all to Boot Camp. If you haven't taken the plunge and tried a class yet...DO IT!!!! It'll totally reshape your body. I'm still 18 pounds from goal, but don't think I look 18 pounds over-weight.

Left the party just after midnight, after deciding to leave my baby-girl car in the nice, protected parking garage for a sleep-over! Okay, the accumulation of 2 beers, wine with the meal (a couple of glasses) and 5 or 6 vodka sodas also helped with the decision! Man, I should feel waaaaayyyyy worse than I do! Holy mother, I can slam 'em back, huh??? Actually, I find with vodka soda I don't feel bad the next day...lack of sugar is the key! And I don't get "this is the first time I've had alcohol kid" drunk...I get a pleasant little buzz, and can (and do) maintain adult conversations with the other party guests. After all, the booze may be free and flowing (we get 3 drink tickets, yet somehow I end up with extras, as people leave and throw me their leftovers...hmmmm...there could be a hidden message in there somewhere, but I'm not awake enough to figure it out! LOL!), but at the end of the day, I'm still at a company function, and I'd like to be able to show up for work on Monday, knowing I still have a job!! There have been many others that crossed the line, and that were gone the following day/week! Makes me shake my head...what were they thinking?!?! Oh, and while on that subject, do people not own mirrors?!?! There were some outfits, or lack thereof, at the party last night that made me go "huh?!". We're not totally stuffy but the invites do say semi-formal. So the guy in his karate outfit (yes, it was black silk and had a gigantic red dragon embroidered on the back) was basically wearing his jammies! How he got out of the house is beyond me...it would have been "you're planning on wearing that where?! We are not going to the doe-joe (don't know if I spelled that right) so turn around and put on a suit!" Or the girls in their nice long gowns and freaking FLIP-FLOPS!!!!! Not cute sandals, but FLIP FLOPS...the kind you wear to the beach!!!! Yes, my feet hurt - I have bone splinters floating around in my ankle, which was further aggravated by an afternoon of bowling and I still managed to walk in, dance in and stand in a classy pair of strappy sandals...suck it up girls! That is the key, I suppose...the average age of the flip-flop wearers appeared to be around 18. I forget how young some of our team really is.

I'm going to finish my coffee, have a bowl of cereal with some fruit and almond milk, and then strap on the runners to go get my car. Have to swing by the post office to collect the party order for the Epicure party we had at H-woman's, and then I think an afternoon nap will be in order! I'm also feeling like ordering a swack of sushi for supper tonight (haven't had it in forever) but the day is still young (ish) and I may change my mind...the latent alcohol fumes could decide it's a "chips and dip" kind of day!

Later,

The weekend is almost here

And it's been a long week at that! After all, I worked two days last week, and now I have to work 5??? In a row???? Ugh...
Tomorrow is a short day though, as we're off for an afternoon of team-building...bowling. The last time I bowled was the last time we did this as a team-building event, roughly 4 or 5 years ago. It'll be fun...we're bowling 3 lanes. One 5 pin (which I can do), one 10 pin (which I can't!) and a half of each in wacky style (eyes closed, wrong arm, etc.)...the downside to all of this?? "Lunch" is being provided...on the menu - pizza, chicken wings, spring rolls, deep-fried cheese, etc. I'm guessing the only vegetable to make an appearance will be the tomato sauce on the pizzas and the zucchini hidden in the deep-fried batter!!! And since I have to go and help set up, I won't have an opportunity to run before. But wait, it gets better...immediately after bowling is over, I get to rush home, change into my pretty party clothes and go to our Christmas party! At least the food there will be awesome (big hotel downtown that does a fabulous spread every year) and there will be dancing after dinner. I am going stag...I've always taken either someone that used to work for us, or a girlfriend or my gay friend, and I just decided to strike out on my own this year. I do like men...they just don't appear to like me back! Wait till they see me in my party finery though!
Trainer Josh kicked our butts again today...ankle is actually a little sore from the running, and it really hates lunges. But we did a lot of upper body today, which is good, because my butt is still killing me from Tuesday, but could be bad if I can't lift my glass of wine to my lips tomorrow night!!!
Breakfast was a glass of milk...I know, Cardinal Rule #1 - always eat breakfast. But I went to weigh-in today, since I will have no desire to get up at the crack of stupid to go to a meeting on Saturday, and I just can't make myself eat before I get on the scale. I've been doing this for a very long time, and old habits are hard to break. Snack (at the meeting) was a piece of cheese, and lunch was from Opa. I heart Opa...good, fast Greek food. I had the chicken souvlaki, with rice, potato, whole wheat pita (they offer that now), Greek salad and a side of tzatziki. It was yummy. Tried to have a red delicious apple for afternoon snack (from our healthy snack basket) but it was the foulest thing I have ever bitten into. Disgusting! One bite and threw it away...
Dinner was KD and relish. I wanted something fast after Boot Camp, and quite frankly, I like it!
I have my outfit all ready for bowling tomorrow - we're the Split Personalities, so I've got a man's bowling shirt, hat and chest hair, to go along with my skirt, lacy leggings and cute socks. The other lady on my team is going as half goth, half pop-princess, one guy bought a wig and he's trying to be half lady/half guy, and I'm not sure what the last member is doing, but it should be good. He has quite the sense of humour. I've already put the camera in my purse, so I should have some good photos for you all Saturday.
Later,

Tuesday update

Got the phone call at 10 am this morning - "come get me"...the hospital, in their infinite wisdom, decided that a 77 year old pneumonia patient with emphysema was fine enough to go home! Oy... It was a good thing that I had my breakfast already (1 c Kashi squares, 1 c unsweetened almond milk, 1 c strawberries), as here's how the morning went:
- leave the office and walk home
- jump in the car and drive the 12+ km to Mom & Dad's
- switch to their vehicle (it's a Jeep, so much easier to get my dad in and out of, rather than my two-door sports car!)
- circle the parking garage looking for a place to park...even with the freaking handicapped sticker, we still couldn't find anything close.
- wait forever for the elevator, only to have my mother say (as the doors open) "we should have just taken the stairs"...oy...
- get to Dad's room, help him get dressed, get his last minute meds, prescriptions and assorted other goodies and start to haul him, my mother, a wheel chair, two oxygen tanks, overnight bag and jacket to the car.
- leave him and my mother at the front doors and run to the car with an armload of crap.
- circle the hospital, looking for a spot to pull over at the door to load up the parents.
- load up said parents.
- drive to their home (with 'eagle-eyes' Dad watching my driving skills like a hawk...your welcome, by the way!)
- drop Mom off in the front so she can go in the house and unlock the back door (easier for Dad to get to). Stop the car and redirect to HER OWN HOUSE!!! OMG!!!!
- drive around back, and get Dad unloaded - "I'm fine and make it myself" - never, ever pay attention to those words from an elderly parent...I turned around to take the jeep to the garage, and THUD!!! There's my father, in a heap in the flower bed! At least he fell left and not right, otherwise it would have been a 3 foot drop to hard cement!
- he wants to sit and recover from the fall, so I take the jeep to the garage and bring everything out to the house, and then go get Dad. For a very skinny man, he's kind of heavy! Got him into the house and settled, and after I was assured that nothing was broken, or there weren't any more war wounds, I jump back in my car and drive 12+ km home.
- walk back to work in a freaking wind storm!
Picking my dad up took 3.5 hours...wow. Oh, and where were my brothers or their respective spouses????? Relaxing somewhere, I'm sure!
By the time I got back to work, I was so hungry I couldn't even wait the 2.5 minutes to heat up a bowl of soup, so I caved and bought the chicken quesidilla. It was good, and the people at the deli know me enough to give me less rice and more salad. Still full later in the afternoon, but I also had a treat of Liberte Coconut yogurt and some fresh pineapple. OMG that's good stuff!
Left work at normal time, as I had another Boot Camp session - still outside, as I am completely off limits! But the wind had died down, and I thought it was a nice day to work outside. And work we did!!! Trainer Josh really put us through some moves today. There was this old Asian man and his very young grandson (I assume, of course) who decided that he was going to do everything us crazy people were doing. It was so freaking cute...I wish I had a camera with me. He was adorable, especially when he tried to do donkey kicks and push-ups!
Came home and whipped together some bison (extra lean, from the farmer's market) meatballs, which I baked at a high temp, and tomato sauce (1 can diced tomatoes along with Epicure dried green peppers, toasted onion, roasted garlic, chili garlic sea salt and 4-pepper blend. Add some dried basil and oregano, some tomato paste, capers, balsamic vinegar and evoo. Let it all stew while the meatballs cook, toss in some cooked pasta, the meatballs and top with some fresh grated Parmesan. Yum!
Okay...I'm heading to bed early. I'm beat from all the walking today (to and from work 4 times, for crying out loud), and now Boot Camp. That and it's pitch black outside at 8 pm!
Have a great night,
Later,

Quick update

- Dad is doing better, but not sure when he's getting sprung. Phones to tell me that my mother is having a fit and crying and I should call her...I call her, and she says "what??"...sigh. I'm too old for this!
- packed breakfast and lunch to work, but for whatever reason I was still h.u.n.g.r.y! So I went downstairs to our deli, where they had some lonely looking slices of Greek pizza left. I asked for one and got two (nice deli man!)...loads of veggies, and the crust was on the thin side, so I didn't feel too guilty inhaling them.
- breakfast, by the way, was a bowl of Kashi squares and unsweetened almond milk - forgot my banana. Lunch was leftover salmon and rice, and some green salad. Snack was an apple and a small yogurt with 1/3 c All Bran.
- walked to my chiropractor (about a km from work) and then back past home to my vets, to pick up more insulin for George. Figure I walked about 5km total after work, and I also walked another 3.5km at lunch. Man, that felt good! However, I did over do it after work, and now my ankle is reminding me that I must ease into things!
- dinner was my cheater salmon chowda. One can cream of potato soup, 1 small can salmon, milk, Epicure Bacon Potato topper. Mix all together and heat through. Yummy!
- observing a very odd anniversary this weekend...the end of a long term friendship that had become extremely toxic to me. It's been 1 year already. Wow...time flies when you have no regrets!
- had to move a bunch of old furniture that some kind soul dumped behind my building earlier this evening. Calling for Small Haul to come and take it away (for a price, of course, which is so not fair to my building, but what do you do?) but I have to pile it in a central place for them to collect. There was an entertainment unit, futon and frame, bed frame, box spring and mattress - both queen size. And then there were the four 31kg (68 pounds!) buckets of Spackle or whatever that I had to haul from the doorway to the back. A distance of about 20 to 30 feet. Yes, I hauled 273 pounds of crap down the sidewalk!!! Good thing my daddy didn't raise no girly-girl!!! But if I ever catch the person who left all this stuff...pow - to the moon, Alice...to the moon!!
- That's it for me. Pleasant dreams everyone.
Later,

Daddy update

So my Dad has pneumonia. Not sure how or where he got it from, since he never, ever leaves the house, but at least he's at the hospital getting the care he needs. He does look better than last time around, so hopefully he'll kick this fast and be home. His day nurse came in to tell us what was up, and she looks like she's not taking any guff from the old man...good for her!!! Mom is funny though...she wonders when he'll come home and then bitches about it when he's there. Guess 52+ years of living with the same dude becomes habit forming!
Went to the Farmer's Market (took my camera, and then completely forgot to take photos...typical!), and after a lovely lunch of cabbage roll, perogies, bratwurst, sauerkraut and steamed veg (I got a potato, cauliflower and carrots), we went shopping. I came home with Pink Lady apples (about freaking time!), zucchini, ground Bison, fresh basil, tomatoes, Chipotle Orange sauce, Butter Chicken sauce, whole wheat pita, feta and kalamata olives. Did enjoy a snack of pink lady apple with some Imperial cheese spread on. Ate it before I could take a photo!

Dinner tonight was a piece of salmon marinated in said orange sauce, with brown rice 'pilaf' (cooked brown rice in Epicure Vegetable Bouillon, which made it look like a pilaf when it was done) and salad greens with sun-dried tomato & black olive vinaigrette.

Still have rice and salmon left over for lunch tomorrow. The orange marinade was perfect...it was slightly sweet, slightly spicy, with just the right amount of orange bitterness to offset. Quite delish.

All right...it's 8pm, and I'm thinking chill time. Although I'm not sure where I'll be lounging!

Later,