Missing: Summer (Also, it's FMM today)

Woke up this morning to find that the beautiful sunny weather was once again just a tease. I don't know what's up with this year's summer weather but I'm starting to think that perhaps we should start listing it as 'missing' on the side of milk cartons and paper our neighbourhoods asking if anyone has seen it. There are some people trying to hang on to summery dresses and shorts but the reality is that the majority of people are in pants and jackets today. My only real concern is that I really, really, really hope the rain clouds don't open up before or during this evening's run.

It's that time of week again: Friend Makin' Monday! If you've never played before, you can find the rules here.

FMM: What’s in Your Fridge?

1. List a few common items that can always be found in your fridge. Milk, various produce, cheese, eggs

2. What kind of milk do you drink? Skim, I have a slight issue with specific types of dairy so anything else gives me tummy troubles. (cheese, yogurt, and ice cream, thankfully, do not cause this issue!)

3. Do you prefer fresh or frozen vegetables? Fresh although I keep a bag of mixed frozen vegetables in the freeze 'just in case'.

4. What do you currently have to drink in the fridge? Water, milk. I'll occasionally buy orange juice (although I'm very picky about the type I'll buy) but the only things I drink with regularity are water, tea, and coffee.

5. How often do you clean out your refrigerator? Not often enough. I've stopped buying stuff unless I have a specific plan for it so that's helped with keeping the fridge pretty clutter free so I can get away with fewer cleanings. (Clean smarter, not harder!)

6. What’s the healthiest thing in it right now? The veggies for tonight's stir fry.

7. What’s the most unhealthy thing in it right now? Reese's Peanut Butter cups. My cupboards gettoo warm for chocolate in the summer. This way, I can have one and know that the other two will survive for future treat dates.

8. What do you wish you had in it that you don’t have now? I made a 'Mexican Sangria' a few years back (with a white zinfandel) and when the sun comes back, I wouldn't mind a big pitcher of that sitting in my fridge.

9. How often do you shop for groceries? I do a 'big shop' about every two weeks and then supplement with mini-trips (usually produce) about twice a week.

10. What’s the weirdest thing in your fridge right now? BodyShop Vitamin E Rosewater face spray and BodyShop peppermint foot spray. Try putting a refreshing spray in your fridge. On a hot summer's day, it is the greatest feeling ever but it does raise a couple of eyebrows when someone else looks in my fridge.

A Weekend of Walking

Thanks to a niggling cough on Friday, my run once again turned into a walk. It worked out for the best in the end, however, as I was able to come home, change and head right back out again. I had a fairly epic walk, got caught in a freakishly quick sun shower, and was still home in time to watch Vancouver's first round draft pick. And by 'watch', I mean 'have my twitter set to the live #NHLdraft feed'.

Saturday morning, I headed off to Thetis Lake with a friend to do the Upper/Lower Thetis Trail. Despite a few menacing clouds, our time at Thetis was gorgeously sunny and warm. I'd have pictures of the hike except my camera is still on holidays without me (although it is currently on the ferry so I'll have it back soon!) so I guess I'll just have to go out and do it again.

Saturday evening was a Matoto social at Vista 18 followed by our June board meeting. I often forget about Vista18 when it comes to nights out because I find it a wee bit on the pricey side for food but to just sit and chat with some friends before getting down to business, it was perfect. I was even a very good girl and kept my promise to my mom that I wasn't going to drink any beer after the fairly healthy week I had.

However, the word 'mojito' may have crossed my lips.

And now I'm off for another long walk and then dinner (BBQ steak--yummy!) at my mom's. It's been a good weekend, and it really helps that summer is here (and this time, I think it might stay).

A Kick in the Pants

I had a less than stellar Wednesday both health and general life-wise. By the time last night rolled around and I settled in to post, I was feeling sorry for myself and felt that everyone else should share my pity. I was going to post and I wanted to whine... a lot. Before starting to whine and vent online, I checked my feeder to find this post from Susan.

Susan is one of the first healthy living bloggers I found when I first started this journey. I learned a lot from her fitness posts, followed her adventures as she moved from New Brunswick to Toronto and back again, felt helpless as she talked about her shattered elbow, and secretly decided she was my hero when she did an entire dinner themed around beer.

I can not even imagine what must be running through her mind right now but other than sending positive thoughts there's not much I can do about it.

And just like that, all my complaints seemed so minuscule, hardly worthy of the time to type them, that I never posted. So I had a bad day, who doesn't from time to time? It's time to pick myself up, put on my big girl panties and deal with it.

Because that's what Susan would do for something as trifling as a head cold.

Rambling Thoughts and Friend Making Monday

First off, if you're not reading The Great Fitness Experiment Blog, you're missing out on healthy hilarity and I pity the life you must lead. Okay, maybe not quite, but still... At any rate, she had an interesting post last night about a To-Do List vs. a To-Be List. It got me thinking and right now I think you all should read it. And then when you're done that, just keep refreshing the page to see her hilarious pictures in the top right corner. (The tutu ones gets me every time.)

After a few days of miserable cloud and down right chilly temps, Summer appears to be back in Victoria. I have prematurely called it 'arrived' before so once bitten, twice shy. We are currently experiencing summer-like weather. Hopefully it will stay for longer than three days.

I officially start running with my new running partner tonight (assuming she gets my confirmation email. Come on, live online like I do guys!) which is exciting. It will just be nice for running to become a social activity again. I love listening to music while I run, but it kills me not to be able to dance along to it. I get enough looks when I run normally, I don't need to be known as that-slow-running-girl-who-does-jazz-hands-while-she-runs. Although now that I say it, a shirt with "I run AND I do jazz hands" would make me pretty darn happy.

So, it's Friend Making Monday over on All the Weigh so that means I've got a bunch of questions to answer :)

 

Rules are simple: answer, post, link here (more detailed rules are there as well), comment on other people's posts.

FMM: Yes or No?

Do you use coupons? Very rarely. I should really start using them more.
Do you like football? No. It's one of the few sports I honestly have no interest in.
Are you in a relationship? No, unless my cat purring sweet nothings in my ear counts.
Is your phone always within arm’s reach? Yes. Otherwise I lose it because I leave it on vibrate. It's next to impossible to find a phone that's on vibrate!
Do you like thunderstorms? Love 'em.
Can you cook? Yes.
Are you – or have you – lost weight? ::looks at blog banner:: Yes.
Do you know how to read a map? Yes. I'm old school when it comes to travelling; I have never used GPS or SatNav or any of those devices to find my way around. Never will if I can help it.
Do you wear makeup? Yes, but not every day.
Do you read regularly? Does CBC and BBC online news count? I've actually made it a goal to read more books and so far it's going very well.
Are you publicly affectionate? Sometimes. I'm very aware of where I am and that plays a big part in my willingness for PDAs.
Do you like picnics? Yes! Thankfully there's lots of parks in Victoria to picnic in!
Do you have a/c? No. Victoria's weather is fairly temperate so if I did have a/c I'd probably turn it on for two days out of the whole year.
Have you ever been out of the country? Yes, both to live and travel.
Do you know how to ride a bicycle? Yes.

Back to Real Life

First off, I finally put up the new banner which I slaved over for minutes. MINUTES! I took me longer to make the cup of tea I consumed while working on it. I'm not totally sold on my own tag line but it was all I could come up with before I had to take my hands off the keyboard for another sip of tea. Maybe I'll change it, maybe I'll...

...Tea break!...

...leave it as it is.

I visited NHL.com  today doing some thinking on a possible idea I'm having when I saw this:

Ugh. It made me throw up a little... even though, in the end, Boston was the better team (but don't tell anyone I said that).

I wasn't as unhealthy while I was in Vancouver as I had assumed I would be. The loss meant less beer than I anticipated, and the ensuing riot meant that no wine was consumed once I returned to my friend's. The general malaise brought about by watching the riots and doing zero physical activity, however, has continued through the weekend. In fact, I haven't cooked once since I got home Thursday night. That will end tonight though.Well, technically it ends tomorrow as tonight is just a salad. No cooking involved.

I was happy for the little break for 'real life' but it's time to get back at it.

Disappointment

I've been very vocal that I'm a Vancouver Canucks Fan so I wanted to share my thoughts on the riots last night. I wrote about it here.

I'll Be Better Next Week?

I got a super productive kick on Sunday night at about 9:00pm. The next time I checked the time, it was technically Monday which made Monday a huge wash for me. On just a little less than six hours sleep, I went jean shopping on Monday only to find that my favourite store didn't have any full length jeans for the rest of the season.

Bad thing #1.

The Canucks lost.

Bad thing #2.

I once again failed to blog because, well, bad things #1 and #2 but me in a really foul mood.

Bad thing #3.

But I will get the hang of this "post on these days" schedule eventually. Say like, after tomorrow when the Canucks win the cup :)

Speaking of which, I won't be posting tomorrow because I'm going to Vancouver for the game!! Not that I'll be at the game because I don't have $1000 to just throw away on a ticket, but I'll be in Vancouver which means that tomorrow night's run will be replaced with beers.

In short, this is not going to be a healthy week for me.

But if the Canucks win tomorrow it will all be worth it.

Not Following the Plan

When I woke up Saturday morning to a dark cloud hanging over the very park I was supposed to go for a hike in and my hiking partner texting about a stumble the night before which had aggrivated her calf muscle (perhaps a few too many beers during the hockey game, hmm?), all my well thought out weekend exercise plans seemed to fall by the wayside... again.

I still got out on Saturday morning but instead of a challenging up-down, I did a relatively flat urban hike so I could stick close to shops I could duck into if it started to rain. It never did rain. In fact, it turned into a beautiful day for a hike. *sigh*

I also spent Saturday pretending I was a lumberjack. Yeah, you read that right. My dad's property backs onto a forest. Between the encroaching overgrowth and the tree that got tired of standing upright, there's a lot of work to be done around the house. I love the sound of a chainsaw and the smell of fresh sawdust. It reminds me of my childhood (and all the hippies in Victoria just gasped).

Pretending one is a lumberjack works up quite the sweat. I might have to suggest it to various workout groups around town. (And if they happen to clean up my dad's property while getting their workout... BONUS!!) It works up such a sweat that I decided beer was in order. So did my Big Bro. We stole it from Baby Bro's stash. We're good siblings like that.

I headed out for a walk today with a friend and I've picked up a new running buddy. It does mean that I'll be starting the running training over again because she'a beginner but yay for a running buddy. I've been lacking in one since my last one moved on me (although I still love her very much and think she's a fantastic lady even if she does insist on supporting stupid hockey teams like the Flames).

So, in short, I failed to do a single one of the workouts I set out to do but I still had an incredibly active weekend. And now that it's raining, I'm going to reward myself by sitting in a dark theatre :)

Also, GO CANUCKS!!

Hockey Makes Me Lazy

According to my self-imposed blogging schedule, I was supposed to blog last night. Well, you know what? The Canucks were supposed to win last night. Perhaps not surprisingly, who wants to blog to say "I drank two beers during a losing hockey game and now I feel like I completely wasted those calories because the Canucks lost!" If they had won... totally different story. So, in short, perhaps too much of how I'm feeling right now is wrapped up in how a sports team is doing.

At least hockey will be over soon.

Then I've got two months until my feelings of self-worth are tied to soccer games. (Go Bolton and SCFreiburg!)

I officially received my "you didn't make it for our two free months and then video testimonial" email today but with the email was a ticket for four free BellyFit classes. As one of my reasons for going out for this was it was an opportunity to try the classes for free before I put down money for them. Can't complain with four free classes! I'm torn between trying four different classes or the same class four weeks in a row. Decisions, decisions!

Summer has official arrived in Victoria which means that getting out and getting active is much easier. It also means that I'm having to play around with running times because immediately after work is starting to get too hot for my Irish-offspring blood (I don't do heat. I just don't.) but sitting on my couch lends itself to and never getting up again. I have been debating about trying before work runs but then I remember how much I hate getting up in the morning. Decisions, decisions!

Of course, the best way to make these decisions is over a cup of tea so I'm going to make myself one and contemplate.

Someone Has a Case of the Mondays

I know you all have been waiting with baited breath all day so I will put you out of your misery: I have not heard back regarding the BellyFit Free Classes so I am assuming it's a 'no'. That's what I get for babbling like a brook during the interview! Oh well, at least I have a Canucks game and a beer to help me get over my disappointment. Hmm, perhaps not the healthiest way to get over it...

(UPDATE: It's the end of the second period and the Canucks are really not helping me get over my disappointment right now. 4-0? What the fuddle duddle? I shortened my run today to be home in time to watch them!)

I keep seeing this ad on my facebook:

And I just wanted to say that I don't think liposuction and a full-time personal trainer are "2 old diet secrets". Just a thought.

I found an interesting article on the Discover Blogs about feeling fuller if you believe you're eating more calories than you are. It seems that there have been a lot of studies lately regarding the roll of the mental aspects of weight-loss and I find them all fascinating. You always hear "calories in, calories out" but what if there are mental tricks you can apply to your eating to make it easier? If you really could help yourself along by "thinking yourself thin"? (Not that I believe you can do it just by thought but that it could help.) Bad pun alert: It's definitely some food for thought!

I'm here all week. Tip your waitress. Good night, folks!

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah...

After a lackluster Spring with heavy snows in March and endless rain in May, Summer has finally arrived on Canada's West Coast. It was hot and sunny this weekend. The perfect kind of weather to get out of the apartment and  work on your tan slather yourself in sunscreen!

I was supposed to run on Saturday morning but after a jarring pain in my right heel Friday at work, I decided on a long walk instead. The pain was gone but I'd rather not chance it with the pounding on pavement. Plus by the time I returned to my apartment to grab my laptop and take up semi-permanent residence on my local coffee shop patio/sidewalk, it was HOT!

Note: I just want to get a "holla!" for my local coffee shop. They let me sit for five hours on a $2 cup of coffee and didn't say a word except to wish me a good day as I left. It's a busy place and seating is at a premium. They are good, good people who serve good, good coffee!

Today I did something a little crazy. I auditioned to be part of a DVD recording for BellyFit as a member who gives before and after testimonial. Free BellyFit classes for two months? Hells to the ya I'll be on camera! I made myself look presentable but not too different than I do when working out (okay, maybe I don't wear mascara and eyeliner while working out but other than that...) and headed off to the audition.

I was hoping that my natural instinct to babble when I'm nervous would somehow disappear between leaving my apartment and arriving at the studio. Yeah, that didn't happen. During the interview, they had to cut me off twice because I was giving too much information to the questions.Yikes! I will find out tomorrow whether or not I get the two months of free classes so keep your fingers crossed and I'll try and keep my mouth shut.

Well, That Was a Quick Trip on the Healthy Wagon

My new posting schedule says that I need to post tonight but instead of being all "I went for a run, I was a good girl, I was healthy", I'm going to tell you how I sat on my mom's couch, ate a full turkey dinner, and watched one of the best hockey games I have watched all season. End-to-end, beautiful hockey. Tonight was what the Stanley Cup finals are all about!

You can not fault Thomas for this goal--he and Luongo put on clinics tonight--but when the other team does a

textbook tape-to-tape set play...

[Source]

It did get my heart going so I'm sure that totally counts as a workout, right?

No?

Fine. I'll be better tomorrow.

But right now I'm going to dance around in my underwear* and think about how the Canucks are three wins away from the Stanley Cup.

Then maybe I'll get some sleep.



*what? I didn't want to get cat hair on my dress pants so they came off the minute I walked through the door.