Good day

Got up on time...okay, so I hit snooze a few times, but at least the alarm went off, allowing me to snooze!

Packed up breakfast and lunch:

- oatmeal with toasted pecans and Saskatoon berries.

- cottage cheese and an apple. I did take a piece of leftover chicken, but decided last minute to get a bowl of soup downstairs. Vegetable tortellini. It was chalk full of big, chunky vegetables and had a nice clean broth. Afternoon snack was an Asian pear and the Satisfaction yogurt. Thought I'd give it a try, but I think I'll stick with the Greek stuff. No fat and no unhealthy stuff...

Work was...I think I'm getting some new tasks sent my way, which will be awesome. A - because I get to learn more and B - because I am, for all intents and purposes, done my work for.the.month. It may be a long two weeks!

Came home, changed and just made it to boot camp. It's amazing...if I leave my house by 4:28, I'm pulling up at boot camp with a good 10 minutes to spare. 4:32 and I'm almost late! Literally ran in the room at 4:59!! Craziness...anyway, we had good, all over, boot camping fun! Happy good times!!!! Equally painful parts of cardio (jump rope), upper body (lats, flies, curls, extensions, push ups), core (drop leg flies) and legs (lunge walking, squats). Our goal was to hit 800 reps! Yes, 6 stations with 25 reps each and one station of 50...repeat 4 times! I am proud to say that when the front runner finished, I only had 125 reps to go. Usually just starting my 3rd loop by the time the jocks are finished their fourth. I went hard tonight! Also signed up for a Zumba class that Survivor is putting on. The instructor is considered one of the best in Calgary, and I've already heard raves about her. Unfortunately didn't realize until after I signed up that I have a half marathon on day one, but I think that's a good enough excuse to get me out of class that day!

Home from boot camp, where I put together Spanish Chicken and Rice. It was posted on the WW site this week and looked really good. I did some variations though.

Into the new Epicure Everything Pan went evoo, onion, garlic and chicken breasts (they called for thighs...blech). Add Spanish Paprika (luckily for me, Epicure sells a delightfully smoky version), cumin seeds, S&P. Throw in roasted red pepper strips and cherry tomatoes (I had grape, so that's what I used) and I added quartered baby artichokes. Add the rice (again, switch up here...they called for white rice (WTF??) so I added my quick cooking barley instead. Way more protein and full of fibre) and stir till coated. Add 1 can chicken broth (and a bit of water), cover and cook till barley is tender. Test for seasonings (more paprika) and add 15 sliced green olives and a splash of Sherry vinegar. Heat through and enjoy. Verdict...OH-MY-GAWD!!!!!!!!!! With my variations, the recipe changed from 10pts per serving (4 large servings) to 8 and I am happily satiated. And I have lunch AND supper for tomorrow already done.

Part of my goal this week was to try something new from the grocery store, so I bought a Chayote Squash. Found a recipe for a salad of sorts with roasted red pepper and a tangerine dressing that I will try later this week.

Doesn't it remind you of Audrey II?? "Feeeeed me..." Okay...I may have just dated myself. I hate getting old!

Also bought a turnip.

Yup...the long hated root vegetable from my youth. But...I also despised Brussels sprouts and since I brought home a good pound of them last night, I'd say I've become a fan! I'll try it roasted and see whether it's an adult taste or if I still hate them.

Enjoying a little wine after dinner, and rehydrating after boot camp. And I will go to bed early tonight. I hope...that's the goal anyway.

Later,

Something is wrong here...

Mom's grocery list:
2% milk
whipping cream (for cereal)
mini wheats (with brown sugar frosting)
chocolate chip cookies
double chocolate cookies
jelly beans
licorice allsorts
Boost (because it's good for her!)

My grocery list:
celery
tomatoes
onions
turnip
squash
assorted fruit
cheerios (because they're good for me!)

Mmmm...guess if I make to to 75, I'll get to nosh on cookies for supper too!

Still blinking cold out there (sad, sad, sad story out of Toronto - just freaking sad) BUT it's supposed to warm up tomorrow. Fact is, it's 6 degrees warmer now than it was as 10:37AM, so I guess that's something.

Exercise consisted of walk to and from work, and then hauling groceries and cat food into Mom's. Did some tidying up there, and came home, whipping into Chapters to pick up the Born to Run and Blogging for Dummies. Let's see what I can do to this site to jazz it up a bit, and get 11 followers...I would have said a dozen, but that's just crazy talk! I also picked up what appears to be a helpful "de-cluttering" type manual. Again, let's see how it works.

I forgot to turn my alarm on last night, so slept nicely till 6:35am. That does not work so well when I usually start work at 7, so ended up working till 4:30 today. Threw my whole day off! As it was, I came home, jumped in the car, drove to the vet's for food, drove to Coop, went to the bank, went to the liquor store, dropped everything off, unpacked the groceries, cleaned out the fridge, gathered up garbage, emptied and reloaded the dishwasher, checked the mail and left. Good thing I grabbed some sushi and edamame at the store for me, because I knew I was not going to whip up dinner at 8:30 (when I got home). I will be making this really tasty sounding Spanish dish tomorrow night though, so I'll let you all know how it works out.

Packing up for bed. Yes, the alarm is on.

Later,

Busy day

And really, I felt like I didn't really do anything. Stayed inside for one thing. Liars...all weather people are liars!! The wind did not shift direction...it did not slow down...and therefore, it did not warm up! HOWEVER...there is a big rain storm over Vancouver Island and Vancouver, so that should mean CHINOOK by the middle of the week! Glory be...just have to hold out for a couple of more days.

I did bake a loaf of bread (soda bread...very dense with oat bran, wheat germ, oatmeal and whole wheat flour) which has been outstanding with my Saskatoon pie filling spread on. I am in the process of mixing up another batch of steel cut oats (oats, UVAB, vanilla, water, toasted pecans - will top with some Saskatoons each morning) and I have lunch ready and in the fridge. My dinner was meatballs, roasted in the oven, along with potato roti (both from Ikea), which I topped with a "mushroom" sauce. Take one can cream of mushroom soup, add some sour cream and dill, heat through. I also roasted the last of my Brussels sprouts to make for a full meal. With the leftover mushroom sauce, I made chicken & noodles. Pan fried a chicken breast and the last of my fresh mushrooms till cooked through. Boiled some yolkless egg noodles, dice the chicken, toss everything together. Looks very good and filling. With dinner though, I was very Swedish, as I ate my gravy covered meatballs with Saskatoons on the side. Seriously, you have to try this one day! YUM!

I also baked up a batch of the Ginger Oatmeal cookies from the new WW cookbook. Can't say I'm overly impressed as they still work out to 2 points per cookie and these are some seriously small cookies!! Let's put it this way...the recipe says you are to get 30 (I got 21 small cookies) and I mixed the whole thing up in a measuring cup!!

Managed to stay within points today, which I am pleased with, since the biggest exercise I did was wash the dishes. Granted, I did a lot of dishes, but I don't think I broke a sweat! We'll see what happens when I tackle the litter boxes next.

Sunday night already...sigh...

Later,

Repeat of the Tum Yum

It was THAT good! I took the rest for lunch on Friday and made everyone perk up when they smelled it as I walked back from the microwave...yum!

Walked home in the frigid cold...I can handle it for so long before I'm done. In fact, it's not really the cold that I have a problem with. After all, I am a hearty Canadian. Far be it for me to complain about snow and cold!! I am having issue with the wind, however. It's takes a bearably cold day of -23C and turns it into downright miserable of -32C! I was debating going to boot camp one more time, but had to wait for the floor guy to call and come by to measure a suite for new flooring. He was to call at 4...I heard from him yesterday!! Oh well, I laid on the couch, snuggled with the cats and then enjoyed a pot of KD for supper.

Got up bright and early (for a Saturday) and met up with H-woman to go check out the newest farmer's market. The Kingsland market did run during the summer, but now they are in a permanent home (former car dealership, and very easy to get to) and this weekend was their grand opening. Wandered through, checked out who's there (quite a few names from the Calgary Farmer's Market, which doesn't reopen until February, due to their recent move), and sampled some wicked good soup (the lady forgot that flavour t home, so couldn't buy any), Saskatoon berry pie filling, pork sausage. We left before the giant Saskatoon berry pie showed up, which is probably for the best! I left with some steel cut oats, Saskatoon berry pie filling, fresh soft goat cheese with Saskatoons & cinnamon - can you sense a trend here? I think Saskatoons are Canada's answer to the acai berry!

H. and I went for breakfast, since a latte and food samples weren't quite cutting it. Went to a favourite, Diner Deluxe. It's like walking back into your grandmother's 70's kitchy kitchen! Arborite and bold colours, funky lamps, metal chairs, kitchy art on the walls. And GOOD FOOD!! All fresh, all made with butter, salt & pepper (it's actually a "warning" on the menu!) and local ingredients. I had the meatloaf hash with poached eggs. In a small cast iron skillet was a layer of spinach, the BEST hash browns (crispy and soft at the same time), a piece of homemade meatloaf, red pepper jelly and two soft poached eggs. Came with multigrain toast and fresh rhubarb/strawberry preserves. And lots and lots of the best coffee ever!

Dropped H. off (well, technically left her there, as she was going to yoga nearby) and went to Walmart to pick up a few things before driving out to Cochrane to pick up a prize I won during the final marathon event for Marathon Quest 250. I won a man's tech shirt. It's a man's medium, but it fits and will be perfect as a first layer for cold, winter runs. Came home, flopped on the couch and then just as I forced myself back up to go out and shovel, the floor guy called. He came by, did his thing and left, while I finished cleaning up the sidewalks. Once again, it wasn't a lot of snow but it was packed down pretty good. My back is getting sore from all the extra workout I'm giving it lately!

I tried to decide what to make for supper and decided on Tum Yum again because it was so good and so very simple! Into a pot went a can of coconut milk, 3/4 of a carton of chicken broth, chili garlic paste, ginger, dried shitake mushrooms, dried wood fungus strips, carrots, celery, red & yellow peppers, chicken and shrimp. Season with fish sauce, lime zest and juice and voila!! Glory in a bowl!! I was full and satisfied and content to lay like a log the rest of the evening.

Watching the weather reports though, I decided to sleep in this morning instead of getting up and going to run club. It's still freaking cold out and that wind refuses to stop. It's supposed to get better this afternoon, so I'll head out later for a good loop (or two). Ate some oats with almond milk, almond slices and a scoop of the Saskatoon pie filling. Sipping coffee and plotting the day...what ever will it bring?

Later,

Yum yum in my tum tum

This month's Chatelaine is certainly hitting the mark with me. But the day first...

Legs were certainly telling me, all day, how hard we worked at Tuesday's leg-a-licious leg-a-thon! The pain that was in my quads yesterday shifted to my butt and hamstrings today. Sitting was a joy, as was standing back up again! And my shoulders were a little sore too, which worried me about tonight's boot camp. I thought for sure we'd be in for Arm-a-geddon, but turns out we were in a cardio mood. And by we, I mean Josh!!

The walk home didn't put me in the best frame of mind to head to boot camp. The daytime high hit a magical -21C, and that was before the wind and light snow that started to fall. I knew I had to change, wait for the car to warm up (my next house is going to have underground parking or a garage...this I vow!) and then drive to the camp. And even worse is leaving, all wet and sweaty back into the cold, cold night. But as much as I thought this, I wouldn't let it deter me from going (yay me) and off I went.

While I was expecting a ton of arms tonight, Josh seemed more content to have us run like maniacs! After a run/lunge walk warm-up, we alternated cardio with some intense weight sessions. One minute of push-ups followed by one minute of jumping rope. Followed by 1 minute of curls, with one minute of burpees. One minute of squat press with 1 minute of sprints. And on and on and on it went. My average heart rate says it all...157. Normally, because there is "down time" in boot camp, my average is around 130 for the hour. Today, my top was soaked through, my face beet red and my heart rate through the roof. Excellent day!

Came straight home (avoided a grocery store run...it can be done, Amy!) and got started on a bowl of Tum Yum soup, from Chatelaine. Into a pot went a can of coconut milk and 3 cups of chicken broth, kafir lime leaves, lime zest, a pinch of sugar (balance sweet, sour, salty, bitter...), celery, carrots (more sweet), a tomato, broccoli, dried mushrooms, dried wood fungus (like a mushroom...I use it for hot & sour soup a lot), fish sauce, lime juice, chili paste, ginger, garlic. Okay, so I improvised a bit...recipes should be a guide, not law. As well, the recipe called for chicken and shrimp, but I forgot to pull the chicken out of the freezer. I went with all shrimp, and WOW!!! Topped with a smattering of cilantro, it was so good, I had to force myself to STOP eating it. I have a healthy portion left for lunch tomorrow, and I'm guessing it'll be even better the next day. Double wow...

With a content tummy, I'm sipping on some water and thinking about sleep. I was up again this week at weigh-in (which I'm sure had nothing to do with the whole freaking bundt cake I ate this weekend!) but as noted beside, I had no one to blame but myself. I did resist all cakey/cookie goodness today though and am happy to report that I'm actually sitting here a point shy of a full day, and without using a single exercise point. And I'm not hungry. Goal this week, besides the Weight Watcher's challenge of using the Power Foods, is to stay within my points and not go overboard. I don't want to get into the habit of exercising to eat, and I need to see the number on the scale actually go down. That is my mission. The other good thing that results from boot camp/running clinic, is that when I sweat, I tend to have less cravings for sweets and treats. It's like my body knows those won't help it be the lean machine it needs to be, and steers me away. So, bring it! At least it's supposed to be warmer on Sunday, so I will get out there for a good long run. After all, I've got a half marathon in 30 days that I should at least be semi-prepared for!

Later,

"Too"

What started out as a lovely, albeit freaking cold, day quickly turned into a pissy one after I was told I was "too loud". All my life, I've been "too"...too tall, too skinny, too fat, too loud, too quiet, too redhead, too brown, too happy, too sad, too fast, too slow. Really?? I had really hoped to have outgrown all those feelings. After all, it's taken a very long time for me to get to the point where I truly heart myself, and all it took was one person to say "too". I know it's not my boss that is complaining...I'm sure I could sit there, swearing like a trucker, burping and throwing garbage around, as long as my job got done to the same high standards I set for myself. No, no...it's someone that works nearby, and that doesn't have the balls to come right up to me and say "sorry, but you're bothering me" and I would do my best to work on my levels. I do know I have a loud voice (drama training...voice must reach the very back of the theatre as well as the front) and do try to be considerate, since I work in a cube-fame, but instead you had to run to my boss like we're all a bunch of 4 year-olds. Seriously pissy mood!!! I just kept reminding myself how much I love my job and working there...and that coworkers are just a cross we have to bear.

Walked home in the frigid cold...sadly the wind had picked up again, so the -19C of the daytime suddenly became -31C with the windchill. I was frozen through by the time I got home. Kitty cuddles helped with my mood, before I whipped down to Costco to pick up my new glasses! I ordered them on December 17th, but I guess "old-people" glasses take longer to make! Yes, I am now the proud wearer of Progressives...Trifocals! Yikes!! When did I get old?!?!


I think they look pretty sharp (picked them out, all by myself) and so far haven't had any issues with them. Drove to Eau Claire (don't think I hit anything!), but since I was running late at this time (didn't leave Costco until after 6) I decided against changing and going out for a run. Instead I grabbed a coffee and waited for the frozen popsicles that were my friends to arrive. Sure enough, they showed up shortly, as everyone cut their runs short tonight. Seriously cold outside!

Went for a beer (of course) and got home relatively early. I'm going to take advantage of the early hour and head for bed and try to face tomorrow with a better frame of mind. Or is that asking "too" much??

Later,

Legtastic!

We had a "leg-a-thon" at boot camp today! I'm pretty sure I won't be able to walk down my stairs to work tomorrow! The legs are still shaking and boot camp was over 2 hours ago.

Pretty much a normal day. Work, "quick" walk at lunch (I now know how cows in a field feel...herded along with everyone else, at the mercy of the lead cow...mooooo...) and then back to the office. My lunch was last night's taco leftovers, but I made a lasagna out of it. Layer of taco mix, salsa, layer of cheese, layer of tortilla, repeat. Heat till warm and bubbly, top with some sour cream...yummo!

Came home, changed quickly and back out into the cold (currently -21C) to boot camp. Josh as feeling extra-specially leggy today, so we worked them till we all almost fell down. Squats, lunges, jump squats, jump lunges, more squats, wall sits, even more squats, sprints, more squats and then the beloved (yet brutal) booty-burn!

Stopped in at Safeway on my way home (where I'm sure I was weaving because my legs were shaking so badly!) to succumb to advertising. Saw an ad where Campbell's Chunky soup was poured over mashed potatoes as a dinner. Since it was so cold out, I thought it would be a perfect supper. Got potatoes (need those for mash), soup, some more bananas, apples, nectarines, tomatoes, shrimp - didn't I just go for groceries last week?! Came home, boiled the potatoes and put them through a ricer (like a giant garlic press). It makes fabulously silky smashed potatoes. Since I had fat-free evaporated milk in the fridge, I wasn't worried about them being too many points. One cup of potatoes, topped with half of the can of soup. Now, maybe next time I need to pick a "thicker" style, but I found it a little weak. I did just boil down the remainder of the broth to thicken it, so will have the rest for lunch tomorrow.

Okay...I need to have a cup of tea to ward off any chills. I had such a bad one last night, I was fully dressed with a fleece under my blankets and with a throw over top...remember, I'm the one that usually wears Birkenstock sandals in December! And while I aimed for an early night, it was still 11 before I made it to bed. Tonight I am aiming for 10:30. Baby steps...which may be all I can do for a couple of days!

Later,