*sniff* *sneeze* *blow* *blow* *sniff* *sneeze* *blow* *blow* ...*lotion*
that's pretty much how my day is going - with gulps of hot tea mixed in there too.
I am sick. I rarely get sick anymore, it used to be a common occurrence, but I have been able to avoid it for a little over 3 years now. Ben and I like to joke that I have "snuffles" - the ridiculously cute sounding fatal disease that affects bunnies when they are not cared for properly.
Not long ago in Edmonton there was a house that was found to have 500+ rabbits. The house was severely damaged, and there were feces and fur everywhere. As a result of the horrible living conditions, all of the 500 animals had to be euthanized due to carrying the highly contagious and untreatable respiratory disease - "Snuffles"
As tragic as that story is, you can't help but "awww" at the name of the disease,... or maybe I'm just a bad person. Anyway, back to my original point.
Snuffles - I have it. Or at least it damn well feels like it. I woke up at 4am this morning because I couldn't swollow, and over all was just having a terrible time breathing. Then at 8am Ben had to physically shake me from my coma like sleep (for quite a while too) before I gave him any sort of response to being still alive.
Now I'm sitting at my desk at work with a water bottle, tin of various tea's, mug, kleenex, DayQuil, Cold FX, and a bottle of lotion all sitting in front of me (really - I just looked down and wrote what I saw). I feel like crap. My eyes are heavy, my ears are blocked, nose is burning (from all the blowing), throat is hurting - the whole bit.
I hate being sick - I get whiny. I start to feel bad for myself, and I just want to curl up in bed and have someone take care of me (which is saying something, since I tend to have issues with asking people for help). Luckily, Ben has never witnessed me in full sick mode - I'm not sure he would be a fan. Remember when I said I've managed to avoid being really sick for over 3 years? well Ben and I have been together for 3 years come May. Maybe he's my lucky charm, maybe he just feeds me well, and makes sure I go to bed at a decent time, or maybe he just helps me afford the big bottle of ColdFx from Costco - either way, I have not been really sick in a while (really sick being defined as out of commission for 2+ days, and out of commission being defined as not going into work). I typically get that "feeling" and pop the ColdFX like it's going out of style, feel really shitty for one day, and then in perfect health the day following.
Here's hoping this is going to be one of those times - I'm not cut out for this "sick" business - and my poor nose gets enough of a workout the rest of the year with me being allergic to life - I dont need to add a cold to the list and wipe the skin clear off.
... I need more tea. Here's hoping I'm good to go tomorrow - I'm done with the Snuffles...
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Goals
Like many people, I have struggled with my weight my whole life. I grew up a chubby kid - partly because I was put on steriods when I was just 4 years old to help my body fight off a rare disease - and it took me 2 1/2 years to ween myself off of the steroids, and partly because my parents owned a business and often dinner would consist of take out, or pizza because they just didn't have the time or energy to make a meal. Then in grade 7 I had a doctor put me back on steriods to help with my Eczema, and I gained 40 lbs in a year - managed to get it off in Grade 11, and found it again in my first year of University. Etc.
I'm no stranger to diet plans, I did Suzzane Summer's "Summersize" plan with my mom, went on Herbal Magic, and meticulously counted every calorie I ate. They all worked at the time, but soon enough I found the weight again. Herbal Magic was probably my most successful weight loss, as the weight was off for over 6 months, and I was eating smaller portions - but then my car accident happened, and with not being able to work, I wasn't able to buy groceries - which meant I lived out of my pantry, and no one ever lost weight on the cereal and pasta diet.
Last year Ben and I managed to lose 20 lbs each before our wedding, and went to Mexico looking thin and fit - but found it again in the summer following our return with all the BBQ's, and family gatherings every weekend.
I'm sick of it. I'm done with the Yo-Yo. I want to be able to throw out my "fat clothes" and not look back. Every year I sort through my wardrobe and put the size I'm currently wearing at the front, and the clothing I'm no longer comfortable in at the back - and I hate it.
My biggest frustration is me. I KNOW how to lose weight - I've done it many times in my lifetime. Long story short - calculate your daily calorie needs to maintain your weight - and then eat less than that. It's not rocket science, there's no magic drug I'm waiting for - it's not something I need a professional to help me with... It's all me. No less than 4 times this year did I decide I had had enough of it, started recording my food intake, upped my water and lost 10 lbs, and then got lazy, stopped writing it down, and stopped being so strict with myself, and gave myself a couple more allowances ("I've been so good - lets go out for dinner!") and the number on the scale went back up. I need to stop rewarding myself with food for losing weight - it's stupid, it's like an alcoholic having a cocktail to celebrate sobriety!
I know what I want - I know how to do it - so why can't I stick to it? Am I destined to repeat this same stupid cycle for the rest of my life? Every year I wear three different sizes? No.
Losing weight isn't a phase, it's not a trial run, or a fad. Eating healthy isn't something I'm going to do this week so I look good for the weekend. It's a lifestyle, and I need to start seeing it like that.
Healthy food is awesome! I love how I feel when I eat light foods, my body works better, my skin looks better - I just feel better, and yet I crave the bad stuff.
I found what worked best for me when I was on Herbal Magic was planning my meals. My room mate and I would make up several program acceptable meals, and freeze them in proper portion sizes, and then just stick to our set menu for the week. It worked, it was good food, and we didn't end up rushed for time and just "grabbing something" because it was already made and waiting for us. I have some friends that are implementing the "monthly meal cook off" system for their families - tripling recipes and then rotating the meals of the month so they don't eat the same thing every day, but also so they don't have to worry about figuring something out at the end of the day either. I think it's a good plan. As it is Ben and I make large batches of soup, and freeze them into two serving portions, so we have a hot home made lunch every day - but I think we need to do the same thing for dinners too - supper time is our weakest link.
Plus if I freeze meals in proper portion sizes, then we can't go back for seconds - once we are finished, we are finished.
So I'm currently collecting recipies, and planning my own monthly cooking, to go in effect on Monday. And hopefully as a result both our waist lines go down, and our bank balances go up a bit.
And to keep me accountable - I'll check in here on my blog now and then to let my readers know how I'm doing (all three of you!).
Also, if anyone has any awesome healthy recipes please let me know!
I'm no stranger to diet plans, I did Suzzane Summer's "Summersize" plan with my mom, went on Herbal Magic, and meticulously counted every calorie I ate. They all worked at the time, but soon enough I found the weight again. Herbal Magic was probably my most successful weight loss, as the weight was off for over 6 months, and I was eating smaller portions - but then my car accident happened, and with not being able to work, I wasn't able to buy groceries - which meant I lived out of my pantry, and no one ever lost weight on the cereal and pasta diet.
Last year Ben and I managed to lose 20 lbs each before our wedding, and went to Mexico looking thin and fit - but found it again in the summer following our return with all the BBQ's, and family gatherings every weekend.
I'm sick of it. I'm done with the Yo-Yo. I want to be able to throw out my "fat clothes" and not look back. Every year I sort through my wardrobe and put the size I'm currently wearing at the front, and the clothing I'm no longer comfortable in at the back - and I hate it.
My biggest frustration is me. I KNOW how to lose weight - I've done it many times in my lifetime. Long story short - calculate your daily calorie needs to maintain your weight - and then eat less than that. It's not rocket science, there's no magic drug I'm waiting for - it's not something I need a professional to help me with... It's all me. No less than 4 times this year did I decide I had had enough of it, started recording my food intake, upped my water and lost 10 lbs, and then got lazy, stopped writing it down, and stopped being so strict with myself, and gave myself a couple more allowances ("I've been so good - lets go out for dinner!") and the number on the scale went back up. I need to stop rewarding myself with food for losing weight - it's stupid, it's like an alcoholic having a cocktail to celebrate sobriety!
I know what I want - I know how to do it - so why can't I stick to it? Am I destined to repeat this same stupid cycle for the rest of my life? Every year I wear three different sizes? No.
Losing weight isn't a phase, it's not a trial run, or a fad. Eating healthy isn't something I'm going to do this week so I look good for the weekend. It's a lifestyle, and I need to start seeing it like that.
Healthy food is awesome! I love how I feel when I eat light foods, my body works better, my skin looks better - I just feel better, and yet I crave the bad stuff.
I found what worked best for me when I was on Herbal Magic was planning my meals. My room mate and I would make up several program acceptable meals, and freeze them in proper portion sizes, and then just stick to our set menu for the week. It worked, it was good food, and we didn't end up rushed for time and just "grabbing something" because it was already made and waiting for us. I have some friends that are implementing the "monthly meal cook off" system for their families - tripling recipes and then rotating the meals of the month so they don't eat the same thing every day, but also so they don't have to worry about figuring something out at the end of the day either. I think it's a good plan. As it is Ben and I make large batches of soup, and freeze them into two serving portions, so we have a hot home made lunch every day - but I think we need to do the same thing for dinners too - supper time is our weakest link.
Plus if I freeze meals in proper portion sizes, then we can't go back for seconds - once we are finished, we are finished.
So I'm currently collecting recipies, and planning my own monthly cooking, to go in effect on Monday. And hopefully as a result both our waist lines go down, and our bank balances go up a bit.
And to keep me accountable - I'll check in here on my blog now and then to let my readers know how I'm doing (all three of you!).
Also, if anyone has any awesome healthy recipes please let me know!
Monday, February 14, 2011
The House
So as I said previously, Ben and I are packing, cleaning, and simplifying our Condo to put it up for sale, and move on to bigger and better things (primarily the bigger - the Condo is just way too small for us these days). And as I mentioned in my last post on the subject, our Dream house was posted on MLS, and then promptly taken down just before Christmas, leaving Ben and I hoping it was just bad timing and that they would re-list in the spring when we happen to be looking to buy...
But just to add a little meat to that hope (that sounds aweful...) we went for a drive and looked at the house again. No "For Sale" sign on the lawn - that we could see anyway (it's hard to tell when there's 4 feet of snow piled up there), so we took a quick rip down the alley, and found that the same boat was in the backyard! Huzzah! They didn't sell! Maybe we will get our dream home after all!
Now we haven't stepped inside, but according to the listing, and description, this house has many of the things we were looking for - over sized double detached garage, huge yard, 1200+ SF, Central Air, etc. It's in the neighborhood, and more specifically on the street we want to live on, and it was within our price range.
We will keep an eye on the MLS listings for now, and hopefully the fates will collide, the stars will align, and everything will work out in the end. :)
2011 seems to be the year of the house - with Ashton and Graham buying their first house, Abby and Dave take possession of their house at the end of the month, Lisa and Lee finalizing the details of buying their new house- so many real estate dreams are coming true this year, and we would love it if Ben and I were among them!
But just to add a little meat to that hope (that sounds aweful...) we went for a drive and looked at the house again. No "For Sale" sign on the lawn - that we could see anyway (it's hard to tell when there's 4 feet of snow piled up there), so we took a quick rip down the alley, and found that the same boat was in the backyard! Huzzah! They didn't sell! Maybe we will get our dream home after all!
Now we haven't stepped inside, but according to the listing, and description, this house has many of the things we were looking for - over sized double detached garage, huge yard, 1200+ SF, Central Air, etc. It's in the neighborhood, and more specifically on the street we want to live on, and it was within our price range.
We will keep an eye on the MLS listings for now, and hopefully the fates will collide, the stars will align, and everything will work out in the end. :)
2011 seems to be the year of the house - with Ashton and Graham buying their first house, Abby and Dave take possession of their house at the end of the month, Lisa and Lee finalizing the details of buying their new house- so many real estate dreams are coming true this year, and we would love it if Ben and I were among them!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
I'm a winner!!
A couple of days ago, I entered a contest Now Radio was doing for Taylor Swift tickets. Since Taylor Swift usually sings songs about breakups, they had asked their listeners to post their own break up stories for a chance to win. The first two times they requested them, I ignored it - I figured I didn't really have a good story to tell, but in discussing breakups with Ben, I realized I did have a some-what amusing story, so the third time they posed the question to the listeners, I typed my story out:
_________________________________________________________________________________
In this story I was unfortunately the Dumper. I was dating James for a week and a half, when I realized that I had made a mistake, and that I didn't really like him as more than a friend. Unfortunately I made this realization while we were at the Stampede together. He figured out something was up, and just as we got on the "Safeway Sky Ride" - (basically a ski chair lift that went across the whole park) he asked me what was up, saying if this wasn't going to work - he wanted to know now. So I told him that I didn't think it would... which took all of a minute - and then we sat in silence for the WHOLE REST OF THE RIDE (it's about a 10 minute ride). I started looking at the ground below thinking "it's not that far - I can jump!" When we got off the ride, I asked what he wanted to do - thinking we could still spend the day as friends, and he said "I think I'm just going to go home" gave me a hug, started crying - and took off. I felt awful.
Fast forward to 4 years later, and I ended up becoming really good friends with his friend - which I didn't know until he showed up to a party I was at. I hid and whispered to my friend that he was my ex, and her first reaction was "YOU'RE THE SAFEWAY-SKY RIDE BITCH?!?!"
...awesome.
_________________________________________________________________________________
I was one of about 500-600 entries, some of which were posted multiple times. Stories of broken marriages, catching someone cheating, and even a couple where the Ex was arrested. And yet, I was a winner! I couldn't believe it!
I had left work early yesterday to help Ben's parents paint our bedroom in our Condo, and Ben called me asking if I had heard from anyone - I said no, and he told me I was one of the winner's for the Taylor Swift tickets! Out of the 500-600 entries that were posted, three people were chosen, and I guess my Skyride story was among them!
(Oh - and as I'm typing this, I just got a call to book make-up for a wedding next month - EVERYTHING'S COMING UP HEATHER!! )
Even though Ben and I have been working our asses off lately, moving, painting, packing - and then topping off the day with sleeping on a mattress in the middle of our living room floor (which doesn't make for any kind of comfortable, restful sleep), I'm in such a great mood!
Winning something, no matter big or small - is such a mood lifter! More people need to win things - the world would be such a happy place!
_________________________________________________________________________________
In this story I was unfortunately the Dumper. I was dating James for a week and a half, when I realized that I had made a mistake, and that I didn't really like him as more than a friend. Unfortunately I made this realization while we were at the Stampede together. He figured out something was up, and just as we got on the "Safeway Sky Ride" - (basically a ski chair lift that went across the whole park) he asked me what was up, saying if this wasn't going to work - he wanted to know now. So I told him that I didn't think it would... which took all of a minute - and then we sat in silence for the WHOLE REST OF THE RIDE (it's about a 10 minute ride). I started looking at the ground below thinking "it's not that far - I can jump!" When we got off the ride, I asked what he wanted to do - thinking we could still spend the day as friends, and he said "I think I'm just going to go home" gave me a hug, started crying - and took off. I felt awful.
Fast forward to 4 years later, and I ended up becoming really good friends with his friend - which I didn't know until he showed up to a party I was at. I hid and whispered to my friend that he was my ex, and her first reaction was "YOU'RE THE SAFEWAY-SKY RIDE BITCH?!?!"
...awesome.
_________________________________________________________________________________
I was one of about 500-600 entries, some of which were posted multiple times. Stories of broken marriages, catching someone cheating, and even a couple where the Ex was arrested. And yet, I was a winner! I couldn't believe it!
I had left work early yesterday to help Ben's parents paint our bedroom in our Condo, and Ben called me asking if I had heard from anyone - I said no, and he told me I was one of the winner's for the Taylor Swift tickets! Out of the 500-600 entries that were posted, three people were chosen, and I guess my Skyride story was among them!
(Oh - and as I'm typing this, I just got a call to book make-up for a wedding next month - EVERYTHING'S COMING UP HEATHER!! )
Even though Ben and I have been working our asses off lately, moving, painting, packing - and then topping off the day with sleeping on a mattress in the middle of our living room floor (which doesn't make for any kind of comfortable, restful sleep), I'm in such a great mood!
Winning something, no matter big or small - is such a mood lifter! More people need to win things - the world would be such a happy place!
Monday, February 7, 2011
All my bags are packed and... well not quite
I am happy to announce Ben and I are moving!
In mid January, we were at a gathering of friends one Saturday, when I started talking mortgages with a friend, when he told me about a different kind of mortgage that appealed to us (Manulife One). So the next day Ben and I did a little research, and the mortgage looked pretty awesome. So on the Monday Ben called Manulife, and talked to one of their advisors just to see if we were even qualified, which is when our future plan changed drastically.
Ben and I had a plan, as most couples do. Move in, buy Condo, Engagement, New Car, Marriage, Trip, House, Dogs, Kids... (that's as far as we got). So we had achieved the first 5 items on our list, and were currently in the process of saving for the last 4. And as much as we had outgrown our little one bedroom Condo a year ago, we had some more saving to do before we could make the leap to the house, which meant toughing it out for another year or two.
And then Ben called Manulife. For a little back story, in order to be eligable for a Manulife One Mortgage you must have at least 20% of your mortgage paid off -and we wanted to inquire as to how it worked when we bought a bigger, more expensive house in the future. Ben was told, that instead of waiting to buy a house in 2 years, with the current value of our Condo, (assessment), and the current housing prices, it would be a better financial plan to buy now, instead of later. So Ben called both his good friend who helped us with our mortgage before, as well as our own Mortgage Advisor, and they both said the same thing!
So Huzzah! We are moving! I'm so excited, I can't even tell you! Ben and I have been ready to buy a house since we bought the condo! We often go for drives or walks in neighborhoods we like, or look up current mls listings and check out the place, and dream about the day that we live there - which is what brought us to our ideal neighborhood. About 10 minutes away from downtown we found the area we want to live in, and this last fall we found the house we wanted too. It was posted on mls, and contained everything we wanted in a house - Huge yard, big deck, over sized garage, central air - the list went on - it was even on the exact street we fell in love with in our dream neighborhood! But alas, we weren't ready to buy then - so it never went any further than a dream. And after 3 months of being listed, it vanished just before Christmas.
Now we are secretly hoping that they just decided to take down the listing for Christmas, and will re-list again in the Spring, when we are ready to buy - but we're not holding our breaths. It would be a nice dream that's for sure :)
As of right now though - we are packing up our condo, painting walls, fixing minor issues (our cat re-designed our screen door, so that needs replacing), and getting ready to move - somewhere?
It's kind of a strange feeling, to pack up and get ready to move - without having a place to go... actually, it's not a strange feeling, it's terrifying!
But Ben and I have been smiled upon in much of what we have done in our lives - we ended up with the exact condo we wanted, paying much less than what we had budgeted for. Bought a great car 9 months earlier than planned, but ended up paying half the price we would have paid had we waited... over all, someone is looking out for us, so I know we will be just fine - but until we get to that point - our nerves are going crazy!
In mid January, we were at a gathering of friends one Saturday, when I started talking mortgages with a friend, when he told me about a different kind of mortgage that appealed to us (Manulife One). So the next day Ben and I did a little research, and the mortgage looked pretty awesome. So on the Monday Ben called Manulife, and talked to one of their advisors just to see if we were even qualified, which is when our future plan changed drastically.
Ben and I had a plan, as most couples do. Move in, buy Condo, Engagement, New Car, Marriage, Trip, House, Dogs, Kids... (that's as far as we got). So we had achieved the first 5 items on our list, and were currently in the process of saving for the last 4. And as much as we had outgrown our little one bedroom Condo a year ago, we had some more saving to do before we could make the leap to the house, which meant toughing it out for another year or two.
And then Ben called Manulife. For a little back story, in order to be eligable for a Manulife One Mortgage you must have at least 20% of your mortgage paid off -and we wanted to inquire as to how it worked when we bought a bigger, more expensive house in the future. Ben was told, that instead of waiting to buy a house in 2 years, with the current value of our Condo, (assessment), and the current housing prices, it would be a better financial plan to buy now, instead of later. So Ben called both his good friend who helped us with our mortgage before, as well as our own Mortgage Advisor, and they both said the same thing!
So Huzzah! We are moving! I'm so excited, I can't even tell you! Ben and I have been ready to buy a house since we bought the condo! We often go for drives or walks in neighborhoods we like, or look up current mls listings and check out the place, and dream about the day that we live there - which is what brought us to our ideal neighborhood. About 10 minutes away from downtown we found the area we want to live in, and this last fall we found the house we wanted too. It was posted on mls, and contained everything we wanted in a house - Huge yard, big deck, over sized garage, central air - the list went on - it was even on the exact street we fell in love with in our dream neighborhood! But alas, we weren't ready to buy then - so it never went any further than a dream. And after 3 months of being listed, it vanished just before Christmas.
Now we are secretly hoping that they just decided to take down the listing for Christmas, and will re-list again in the Spring, when we are ready to buy - but we're not holding our breaths. It would be a nice dream that's for sure :)
As of right now though - we are packing up our condo, painting walls, fixing minor issues (our cat re-designed our screen door, so that needs replacing), and getting ready to move - somewhere?
It's kind of a strange feeling, to pack up and get ready to move - without having a place to go... actually, it's not a strange feeling, it's terrifying!
But Ben and I have been smiled upon in much of what we have done in our lives - we ended up with the exact condo we wanted, paying much less than what we had budgeted for. Bought a great car 9 months earlier than planned, but ended up paying half the price we would have paid had we waited... over all, someone is looking out for us, so I know we will be just fine - but until we get to that point - our nerves are going crazy!
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