Time flies...

One year ago today I married the man of my dreams. I can say hands down that not only was it THE happiest but also the best day of my entire life.

I love you. You are my best friend.

Today I give myself to you in marriage.
I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you,
and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle.
I promise to love you in good times and in bad,
when life seems easy and when it seems hard,
when our love is simple, and when it is an effort.
I promise to cherish you, and to always hold you in highest regard
These things I give to you today, and all the days of our life.

Crisis Averted

I started today with a skinny latte and a cranberry bliss bar. Not the best start, I will admit. I decided to let myself have one last treat, as they're only out at Starbucks until Jan 2nd.

Lunch was a salad with turkey, dried cranberries, brie and vinegrette.

After work snacky was PB and banana on WW bread.

Supper was chicken breast, brussel sprouts, broccoli and 1/3 cups rice.

Workout: Body pump, and 2 x 1.6k farklet.

I gotta say, I kinda avoided a potential disaster. Go me!

A mild Monday evening....

I love Monday nights. I never exercise on Monday nights, as I do my long runs on Sundays. But, I do take Jersey for a super long walk. I really enjoy walking. The last couple Monday nights have been freezing, but today was a mild 0 degrees, and I couldn't have picked a better way to spend an hour! I love that dog to bits, I really do.

I went shopping with my girlfriend to pick up some Cuba essentials. A tankini, and some books.

I bought Subway for supper, but didn't really feel like eating it. I gave the sub to Andrew, and then made some pumpkin oatmeal for supper instead. I was trying to go light on the carbs today, but that hasn't really happened. I've been OP though.

Until next time!!

Getting back to normal

I was supposed to be off this week... but with my new job, I'm not feeling confident enough to leave things for a week. I'm at least going to go in Monday and Tuesday. I've been so busy the last couple of days, that I feel like I need some time to do nothing. But thats ok. I'll have a week of 'nothing' in Cuba!

I have to confess. I didn't run this morning. The sidewalks in my neighborhood are covered in ice, which kinda helped my decision not to run. Alright, so did getting home at 2h30am. I'm kinda disappointed in myself, because I rarely wimp out. It ended up being a beautiful day and I don't think the sidewalks were all that bad.

Even though I didn't run, I had a marathon-like workout. I had to redeem myself for missing 18k. I went to Body Pump, Body Combat and THEN Body Jam. Yep. 3 classes in a row!! What I learned today was that I am in no way, shape or form a dancer. I'm much better at punching things. Body Jam is a dance inspired cardio class. It was a lot of fun, but I just don't have the moves!

I have not been eating well today. I can tell you that. I got rid of most of my baked goods by bringing them to the house party we went to last night. But, there is enough junk in my house still to sustain a few sugar cravings. Gah. I don't think I've had an actual meal in like 3 days. Just a lot of munchies (Read: Reeses Pieces, bagels, candy coated nuts, rice crispie squares, wheat thins)

Maybe I am ready to go back to work tomorrow. At least at work there isn't shitty food.

I'm using up leftovers today for supper. I made a turkey and broccoli casserole topped with the leftover stuffing. My body may very well reject the vegetables. We shall see.

A Date!

Yesterday got progressively better as the day went on. I went to the gym for Body Attack class, and did an upper body workout. Felt good to sweat all the junk out of my system. We drove MIL back home (she had surgery on her foot and can't drive) and then went to my Aunt and Uncle's for a visit. I ended up getting a wicked headache, so it was early to bed for me. I awoke feeling pretty rested.

I have a date with my BFF (who is home for the holidays) today. Amie shares the same zest for exercise that I do, so we're hitting up Goodlife for Body Combat and then out to dinner somewhere. Following out date, we have a holiday party to attend entitled "Deck the Halls with Curt's Balls" sounds like a bit of a gong show but I'll be the DD as I'm running 18k tomorrow morning! eeeeeek!

Here's a very old (read: drunk) picture of Amie and IShe was also my MOH... Hard to believe it was almost a year ago!

Moo

I'm happy that Christmas is over. Sorry, for all those Christmas fans... but I really am not a fan of this time of year.

I don't have a perfect family nor does Andrew, which is very hard for me to admit. That being said, we made the most of it and enjoyed a delicious meal with his Mom and my brother.

I'm feeling a little down in the dumps. I'm going to head to the gym to shake myself out of this funk.

Christmas Eve Spinning

We were let out of work today at 12h... so I hit up the gym for a spinning class so I could indulge tonight without feeling guilty.

Merry Christmas to all! :)

Its been a good day

I had a hair appointment today at 6pm, so I went to the gymbo at lunch! Woo hoo!

I ended up chopping off about 3 inches of my hair. I was trying to grow it out, but it was at the stage that it would wing out because of where it was touching my shoulders. I brought him this picture, but it just wouldn't work with my hair texture.... so we went back to the chin length razored bob, with side swept bangs. The color is now what he calls "cherry black" but to me it just looks darker with a slight tinge of cherry.  I like it, but we'll see how it goes in the morning!

I picked up sushi at the grocery store for supper... quick, healthy and easy.

I'm excited to only work a half day tomorrow. Wooo hoo! I'm bringing my gym stuf though. Gotta get a workout in before the feast tomorrow evening!

Are we there yet?

I'm not in a festive mood this year. Not in the slightest. I just wish it would be here and gone... Sorry to be a 'holiday debbie downer'. To boot, my Dad called to tell me they wouldn't be joining us on Christmas day because of his health. He's okay, but just not up to par... he's been in and out of the hospital all week. I'm pretty disappointed, but also kinda relieved. Luckily I hadn't bought a huge turkey yet, so I was able to buy a little guy for Andrew, MIL, my bro and I.

Today is my day of rest... but I did manage a 45 min stroll with Jersey. I was frozen to the bone upon my return home!

Following that I hit up the grocery store and Costco for some last minute holiday nibbles. I'm kind of proud of my selections. When I first arrived I immediately started throwing in a million kinds of cheese, hot appy's, and a lot of fat laden dips. I was planning on having them as an 'appy' dinner on Christmas eve. But then I decided, WTF, Christmas Eve isn't an excuse to eat a TON of shitty food and promptly put them ALL back. Then I decided to make pulled pork sammiches. Kind of unclassy yes, but I'm an unclassy kinda girl!! Its just going to be Andrew, my bro and I... and they both LOVE pork/ribs. To class it up a notch, I bought myself a nice bottle of shiraz. Its been a while since I've had wine.

Whilst shopping, I was hit with an INTENSE craving for macoroni and cheese. I bought a box of Velveeta Shells and added some broccoli to it to beef it up. Healthy? Not so much. Delicious? Hell ya! Broccoli = cheesy goodness.

Tomorrow will be a good day. I'm getting my hair done at 6:00pm, so I'm going to bring all my gym gear and workout at run. Its been done before, so I can do it again!

Goodnight!

I survived!

1h30 mins on the treadmill is enough to make ANYONE go insane! I finished my 12k in 1h23 mins, and then walked the last 7 mins. I have to admit, I was likely running a little too fast for a LSD run but given the circumstances, I think I did ok!

The remainder of the day was spent baking. I made banana/pumpkin loaf, peanut butter balls, rosemary shortbread, regular shortbread, skor bars and a knock off of cranberry bliss bars. Man, I'm totally exhausted.

I had my fair share of bites and licks. My tummy feels pretty gross. The good news is, its ALL in the freezer until Christmas!

Wimp

Ottawa is currently getting dumped with snow. Siad snow has been reaking havoc on my hip flexors whilst running.

Training schedule goes down to a wee 12k today so I'm heading to the gymbo to do it on the tredmill.

If I come out alive, and don't die to extreme boredom... I'll report back.

Wish me luck. I'm going in!

I am not in the festive spirit...

....but Jersey is!!

Bah humbug.

Satuday Morning Survival

I did the unthinkable today. I went to the grocery store. AHHH!

I needed to hit up the Bulk Barn to pick up the essentials for my Christmas Baking. So I went to mall where I could find Goodlife, Loblaws and the Bulk Barn all in the same location!

First, I hit up Body Step. Its been a while since I've done this class... and I forgot what a great workout it is! Especially the 'quick step' track, its sooooo fun!

I then braved Loblaws and the Bulk Barn. Unfortunately (read: fortunately) Loblaws was out of Candy Cane Ice Cream!

I arrived home and made a pot of Pumpkin Oats. Deeelicious. Whislt preparing, I snacked on a piece of cranberry foccacia.

My oats: Banana/Pumpkin topped with toasted coconut, almond slivers, a spoon of PB and a grated hershey kiss. Stupid me FORGOT chocolate chips while shopping!

Thai food from last night. I forgot to post the picture. 1 cold spring roll, chicken with chili and basil, 1/4 cup sticky rice, and 1/2 cup pad thai.Andrew tookthis picture of Samuel and I the other night. Not the most flattering, but it kinda warmed my heart. That kitty loves his momma!

48 hour recap part deux

Man, talk about busy!

Thursday:
- Was a good day.
- I'm getting better at being a manager. I was having problems delegating. I'd rather just do it myself to ensure it gets done... but gradually I'm getting to know my staff and their capabilities.
- After work I went to Body Attack. I think this is my favorite class at Goodlife.
- I made delicious pulled pork for supper.

Today:
- I discovered an AMAZING salad/sammich shop close to my office. Its called The Green Rebel. They have recipes for salad, and also a make your own concept. I had the "Wine & Cheese" which was spring mix, brie, goat cheese, balsamic strawberries, walnuts, red onions with red wine & honey vinaigrette. They also have a cool bowl, called the Rebel Bowl... and if you use it, you save 5% on your salad. I think this is a great option, especially for the environment!
- I went to Body Pump after work. I really gave it my all, especially on my upper body. By the time push ups came around at the end of my class, I could barely do 5. My arms were shaking like craaaaaazy. Following BP, I did 30 mins on the elliptical. I really think this machine is useless.... I may agree with my lover Paul Plakas on this one:

"Elliptical trainers suck! It's not that I'm just against the use of elliptical trainers, I disagree with the need to use any piece of cardiovascular exercise equipment. The elliptical trainer just happens to be the worst of the bunch because of its non-functionality to any real world purpose. The key to being fit, lean, and healthy is how your body behaves and responds to real world activity. It's embarrassing when you have to walk three flights of stairs with a friend and you have to make them wait so you can catch your breath. Training on the elliptical won't make you better at anything. At least riding the bike will improve your biking. The treadmill will improve your running. The stairclimber will improve your vertical climbing and the rower can make you better at rowing. Who cares if you can elliptical well? No such competition for that exists."

- Andrew and I ordered thai food for supper. My mouth is still burning from the Chicken with chili and basil. I love this dish, but it literally kills me to eat it.

-I'm happy its the weekend. I have A LOT to accomplish. TTFN!

48 Hour Recap

Yesterday: I pretty much totally rocked! I had an invitation to go to the Sens game with my girlfriend. In anticipation of missing my workout, I went to the gym at lunch and ran on the tredmill. When faced with many tempting options while out for dinner, I chose salad. When faced yet again with the deliciousness of timbits, I had 2!

Today: I shall deem it as a success! We had a fresh dump of snow this morning, so the roads are a little slick. The snow is starting to pay its toll on my legs when it comes to running, especially hills. Usually on hill night I stay at work until run club, but Andrew is working a little later this week so I had to come home to let the dog out. I had fully intended on doing hills at a hill near my house. The roads in my subdivison still weren't ploughed, so the hill was a mess. I opted to run 5k and walk 2k instead. Ah well, any running is better then none right? I was out for 50 mins... with Jersey in tow!

Andrew is gone out for wings. Dinner alone, yippe! I made myself a bowl of pumpkin oatmeal with a side of clementines. Yum!

A special shout out to my friend Krissy: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Jersey...The rubber eater.

Ok... so you all know that my dog likes to eat things. You may recall this little episode when she chose to shred a stack of 20's.

Well, look what I arrived home to tonight:

Yep. Condoms. Apparently she's not a fan of chocolate flavour though and she left them perfectly in tact. I couldn't help but laugh! What a girl!

Today was a good day... it was my day off exercise, but I took the condom eater for an hour long walk. I have a pan of 'spaghetti bake' in the oven and will be enjoying that momentarily.

Have a great night!

Other winter running thoughts

...ok, so on Friday night my post proclaimed how much I love winter running. Today, my love was not so apparent, mainly due to the following:

- We had a light dusting of snow over night. This made the footing absolutely brutal.
- 16k is a lot longer then the 8k I did Friday.
- Friday night I was not surrounded by running nazis. I hate rules.
- Today's route was visually unstimulating.
- I didn't have a great nights sleep. Jersey is in a funk... and has woke me up to go to the bathroom at 2am two nights in a row.
- Today's weather was hard to dress for. I was too hot for about half of it, and freezing for the rest.
- My legs are screaming due to the workout I did yesterday.

Ok...enough whining already. I did it, its done!

Amy time

Is it wrong that I'm kinda excited Mr B is heading to boys night? I'm pretty pumped to have some quality time to myself... well, and my furry friends Lewis, Samuel and Jersey!

I kinda sorta rocked my workout this morning. I did Body Attack (killer cardio) followed by Body Pump. I only did light weights at BP because I have another 16k run on my schedule for tomorrow, and don't want to be written off physically.

I did my good deed for the day and drove my brother to work as he is suffering from the lack of transit due to the strike. Poor kid.

I think I might do some baking today. Although that will require a trip to the grocery store... and they scare me on Saturdays. We shall see.

Happy Saturday!

Winter Running

I had full intentions of going to Body Pump tonight. I packed my gym bag and carted it on the bus. I was looking forward to it ALLLLLLL day. I arrived and started to change, only to realize that I had forgotten my effing pants. Frig!

Went home, and immediately got changed and headed out for a jaunt with the pootch. I LOOOOOVE winter running. I have to go sllllllllow with I always struggle with, so mother nature makes me slow down.

I wanted to show off my new touque! I ended up forgetting my on Wednesday, so I had to procure a new one at the Running Room. Usually I can't stand being a walking advertisement, but I didn't have much choice. All of their touques were their own brand. This one though, has a PONYTAIL holder. How awesome is that? :)

I guess forgetting my pants wasn't so bad... I ended up running 8k in an hour. Slow, yes... but also safe. The sidewalks are crazy.

And just because its the season...here is our tree.

Chaos

Is how I would describe downtown Ottawa. What a mess. Its amazing how much people rely on public transportation!

Today I went to Body Attack right after work to kill soome time. What a great workout it was! I met my friend Amie there, so it was great.... not only did we work up a sweat, but we got to catch up too! Its bizarre that she lives in the same city, but we barely see each other. Life just gets in the way I suppose. This is a picture of us on her wedding day. I love it!

I'm verrrrrry excited for tonights supper. Maple salmon with broccoli and rice. I think this is one of my favorite meals EVER.

Not much else too say. I'm feeling pretty awesome of late. Maybe all this change has been good for me afterall! :)

Ottawa: The Messy City

Between bus strikes and crappy weather downtown, Ottawa has become a parking lot. It took me almost 3 hours to get home last night on the friggin bus! (I live on the Quebec side, and my buses aren't on strike)

I was so irritated upon my arrival home I had no desire to cook, so we ordered a pizza. Usually I would pig out, but I only had ONE slice! Yipee!

Today was another crappy commute with the strike (increased traffic) and another dumping of snow. Lots of people didn't make it into work as a result of the strike.

I had a good food day, and a great NSV. Around 4:00pm I was starving, and out of food. I went downstairs to the food court to grab a snack. I was surrounded by delicious baked goods, but I procured an apple and a piece of cheese. Go me! I hung out downtown until 6:00pm to go to the Running Room for hills. We did 7 repeats in 1:10. I never got warmed up, yet I was sweating like a madwoman. I had sweat frozen to my hair. I just baked in a steaming hot shower and I'm still feeling chilled to the bone.

Going to warm up with a bowl of tomato soup and catch up on your blogs. This no access to blogs at work really sucks! :)

Brrrrrrrrr!!

Today's weather prompted me to add a weather button to my side bar, just so all of you can see exactly how cold is it here! ---------------------------------->

Its technically my day of rest, but I have a 4 legged friend that requires exercise! Upon my return home I suited up in my snow pants and ski jacket and headed up for a 30 min walk. Poor pootchie's little paws were getting cold, so we cut out usual hour long walk to just 30 mins. I think I may to have to research some booties for her to endure our crazy walks and runs! Despite freezing my ass off, it felt good in an odd way to enjoy the outdoors!

In other exciting news, one month today I will be in Holguin Cuba. Yippee!

Today has been a good food day:
B- skinny latte, banana
S- Fibre one
L- Soup, rice crispie square
D- leftover pasta, leftover pork tenderloin

AP's- My little jaunt with Jersey

Hardcore

is how I felt this morning... running 16k in a blizzard. It sucked, but I loved it!

We put up our tree today. Its soooo pretty. Jersey dosn't seem to care for it, so thats a relief.

Baseball was pretty good tonight. I had a stellar game offensively. I ended up with 6 RBIs. Woo hoo!

I also did some organizing in my closet. Feels good to have everything in order to start the week.

Bottomless Pit

Nothing seems to fill me up.

I have been a snacky lady today.

My day looked like this:
-Fibre One in the car on the way to the gym.
-Met my friend for Body Combat class. (Looved it!)
-Had subway for lunch. 6 inch turkey and ham on brown
-Made a 'snack tray'... brie, old cheddar, and cheese
-Enjoyed a nap wrapped in Andrew's arms.
-Carb loaded for tomorrow's run. Pasta with mushrooms, broccoli and alfredo sauce made with mushroom soup
-Pie for desert. Apple, with vanilla frozen yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon.
-Another small dish of fro-yo.

I am a bottomless pit.

Up for tomorrow... 16k LSD.

Not really an Oprah fan...

...but I found this quote today and I love it.

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."

-Oprah Winfrey

I gave it 110% today, and I had a fantastic run! It was slower then I would have liked, but we had a snow fall this afternoon and everything is SOOO slippery. The end result was 6.8k in 50 mins. I had a smile on my face the entire time, and just enjoyed the scenery. I love looking at all the Christmas lights and decorations. Runs like these, remind me of why I love the sport. :)

We had our Christmas Luncheon today at Banco at le Casino du Lac Leamy. It was just okay in my opion. I had a plate of salad, a dinner roll, some roast beef and steamed veggies. For desert I chose fruit with chocolate fondue sauce and a small serving of butterscotch pudding. I didn't eat breakfast this morning, so I'm still on track for the day.

Since its shitty outside, I'm going to clean my house from top to bottom tonight and make us a delicious stirfry for supper. Andrew is off for the weekend (a first!) so I'm looking forward to some R&R with my main squeeze!

Happy Friday to all!

Owwwwwww!!!

My arms are in agony today. Body Pump is apparently the 'push' I need!

I went spinning today and worked up a great sweat. It was fun to workout with my friend too, its been a while since I've had a workout buddy.

Must cut this short, I'm going to watch The Office and have a slice of pizza. Not the best choice I know, but I barely ate today and I have tons of points left!

TTFN!

Giddy up!

Jersey made her debut at the Running Room tonight. She was a hit! Her cuteness factor was at the maximum, perfect behaviour... and let me tell you, she is one fit girl. We did 6 hill repeats for a total of a little over 8k!

My legs aren't the slightest bit sore from Body Pump, but holy frig... I can barely lift my arms. It even hurt to blow dry my hair. Its pretty evident that I am a weakling when it comes to upper body.

The new job is taking some getting used to. Its not quite what I expected, and I have a feeling there is a lot of conflict within the senior management. I'm not quite sure what to think of it all. The public transportation thing is going to require some getting used to. On a positive note, my stablizers got a great workout because I had to stand the entire ride home. Boourns!

I have a spinning date with a girlfriend tomorrow, so that is exciting. I'm off to eat some pasta and take a bath. I have to shave my legs. Needless to say, running tights don't require smooth legs! ;)

quickie

• New job is ok
• I got a Goodlife membership. Went to Body Pump this morning. Yipee!
• I think my legs will hate me tomorrow as a result
• Public transportation kinda sucks.
• Blogs are blocked at work. Booo.