Weekly Update - Oct 24 to Oct 30

It's been a pretty good week. 

At my WW weigh-in on Oct 26 I was down 2.6  pounds (over the past two weeks as I missed Oct 19 because of my cold). 

I was better at tracking my food, but Saturday in particular was still difficult.  I made chocolate chip cookies with my cousins and then ate two of them.  I had another two after dinner, which was pasta & sausage.  I also could have made better choices on Sunday.  I did take healthy snacks to the movies, but then I also had a few handfuls of caramel popcorn.  Even today, I caved and had a small piece of the birthday cake for the October birthdays (including mine). 

I set up one of my exercise games on my brother's Wii - The Biggest Loser Challenge.  I completed 10 min yesterday and 20 min today. 

I have been wearing my pedometer most days, I just need to remember to pause it when I get in a car or on the bus.

I will keep working at it everyday. 

Weekly Update on Goals and Getting Healthy

Last week I blogged about goals that I wanted to accomplish.

By the time I got home last Tuesday, my throat was on fire.  Wednesday I started sneezing.  Thursday I added a cough into the mix.  I missed work on Friday and spent the whole weekend on the couch hacking up a lung and going through a box of tissues.

Still I did manage a bit of forward momentum.

On Wednesday I logged back into my SparkPeople account.  I have decided that I am going to use SP and WW to achieve my weight loss goals.  I love the support of the teams and the members on SP, as well as the way they reward you for being more involved.  They give you points for everything you do on the website.  It's like the gold stars I used to get for reading in grade 2, or leveling up in a video game.

I also love how SP is free (although WW online is now included in the monthly pass).  Plus there is an abundance of information about how to be healthier.

In review of my post about "Fitness Goals for 2013"and the post about "Pinterest Ideas", I have completed a couple of items:

 - Right after my birthday I took my measurements.  I will take them every month around the 5th going forward.  I have not taken any "before" pictures yet, but I will this weekend. 

 - I have not set up my Wii exercise games, once my cold is gone I will do this.

 - I have not joined a gym.  I still want to go to Aquafit classes, but the closest pool to my house is under maintenance for the Fall.  I tried to go with Kristine to another facility, but she is busy almost every night during the week.  I will come back to this later.

 - I never really used my brother's recumbent bike and then he moved it back into his bedroom.  I am going to focus on the Wii and walking right now, and see if he will move it later.

 - I bought a WW pedometer before my trip to Victoria.  I reached 10,000 steps a day a couple of times.  I have gone back to wearing it everyday again.  My first goal it to reach 6,000 steps everyday, consistently.  I am also thinking about getting the Spark Activity Tracker - as it would sync to my computer and enter my fitness info directly into SP.

 - I set up two jars with glass stones in them - one for weight lost and one for weight still to lose.

 - I have made a few new healthy recipes.  Some were hits and some were misses.

As for my other, non fitness goals, I completed a lesson for my online course last night while watching tv.  I also chatted with my ex yesterday and he is going to figure out how to transfer the Scotiabank credit card balance into his name before the next bill is due at the end of Nov.

Actually when I write it all out like this, I have made a lot of progress.

Top 5 - Movies I have Watched Repeatedly

Ok, so this was supposed to be posted on Friday - but I have been suffering from a horrible cold.  First I had a really sore throat, then a runny nose & sneezing, then coughing and coughing and more coughing.  I woke up twice last night with coughing fits.  Ugh.  I think I am on the mend.

OK, on to the Top 5 . . . there are movies that I have watched over and over again.  It's funny, but they are the ones I will stop and watch when they are aired on television, even though I own them.  There are actually more than 5 of these, but I will just pick a few of them.  Otherwise this would easily be a top 10 or even a top 20.

5.  Jurassic Park 1 & 2

Dinosaurs and Jeff Goldblum - what's not to like?  Most of the time I root for the dinosaurs.  In the same vein, I have also watched Independence Day over and over again, but instead of dinosaurs you have aliens.  Still the lesson is to listen to what Jeff has to say, it might keep you alive.

4.  Groundhog Day

My heart still breaks when Phil tries to save the life of the old, homeless man over and over again.  Sniff.  The dates with Rita cheer me up.  Bill Murray is also great in Ghostbusters 1 and 2. 

3.  Save The Last Dance and Dirty Dancing

I love a good dance/romance movie.  These are my two favourites, but I also love Step Up and Strictly Ballroom, and Bring It On (although that is cheerleading, not dancing, but I feel they are related). Oh and Center Stage and Honey and Coyote Ugly (although that has more singing) and Fame and Flashdance.  This could be a whole list of it's own.

2.  The Shawshank Redemption and The Usual Suspects

Just two, really good dramas.  I guess both are related to crime.  You got Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in a prison drama.  I love the moment when Andy breaks out.  Then you have Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne in a mystery with an awesome twist.  The moment we find out who Keyser Söze really is, I could watch that a million times.

1.  Sweet Home Alabama

There is nothing better than a feel good/cheesy/romantic/chick flick movie.  Sweet Home Alabama has that whole southern charm going for it as well.  And a baby in a bar.  I also love anything with Hugh Grant.  Love Actually and 4 Weddings and a Funeral would be at the top of the list, but you also have Notting Hill, Two Weeks Notice, Music & Lyrics, Sense & Sensibility, and Nine Months.

Hmmmm seems like I might have mentioned about 26 movies.  I apologize.  Sort of. I could have listed another 26, easily.

Check out A Warm Cup of Jo, Divulge with Dani, and A Piece of Apple for more awesome movies that have been viewed over and over.

Goals for 36

Nine days ago I turned 36.  So far it has been pretty good.  We had a nice Thanksgiving weekend with way too much good food.  Except mashed potatoes for dinner on Sunday.  Somehow no one noticed that we did not boil potatoes.  How can you tell that my ex and my cousin's husband were not there?  Both of them love potatoes.  Only my mom missed having them (as an excuse to have more gravy).  I made potatoes for her last night when we had all the leftovers for dinner.

I am super thankful for my friends and family this year.  Without them I do not know how I would have got through the separation and move back to Edmonton. 

I have decided to set some goals for my 36th year.  While I am happy that I am losing weight, and continue to do so, I know that I can do better.  I need to get off my lazy arse and stop spending hours in front of the television every night.  I also need to stop making Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) a free for all where I eat whatever I want.  I know that I would see more movement on the scale, as well as with my measurements, if I just moved more and ate less.

I also want to make progress with my online course.  I bought some supplies to help me study.  Now I just need to complete the Microsoft Office portion of the course and move on to Office Procedures.

My big goal for this year is to complete the last couple of tasks so that I can file for divorce.  I really want to be free and clear of everything that tied me to my ex.  I actually want to get this all done before the end of 2013.

So here is a list of my goals:

1.  Exercise for at least 30 min everyday. 

2.  Record what I eat and calculate the WW points everyday.

3.  Work on my online course for 30 to 60 minutes everyday.

4.  Make appointments/phone calls/emails/research etc to be able to file for divorce

I am going to track my progress and provide you all with updates on Tuesdays.  This will help keep me accountable.  I will also be able to reinforce my forward momentum on my goals. 

Happy Birthday to Me !

I had a great birthday weekend.  On Friday my parents took myself and my youngest brother out for dinner for our birthdays.  Greg turned 29 on Oct 7 and I turned 36 on Oct 6.  He was almost born on my 7th birthday as he was born at 2:00am. 

We went to Vivo, it's an Italian restaurant on the southwest side of the city.  They serve the meals family style, and each "plate" feeds 5 to 6 people.  We started off with a antipasti dish with cured meats, fresh made crackers, cheeses etc.  They also gave us foccaccia bread with oil for dipping.  Then we had some of the best gnocchi I have ever had in my life.  The main dish was four different meats (sausage, steak, chicken and lamb) with roasted carrots and beats.  Then we had fresh baked cookies - and I had a cappuccino.  We took home leftovers for every course.  It was an abundance of super delicious food. 

Saturday I was Kristine's date for Logan & Sarah's wedding.  I worked with both Logan and Sarah at Voxcom before I moved to Calgary.  I had a fairly good time, mostly it was nice to get dressed up and spend time with Kristine.  I knew 7 other people there besides the bride and groom.  One of them was a groomsman at my wedding.  It was a little weird as he and his wife, along with a former team member and her husband didn't really talk to me all evening.  The former team member did not even realize that I had separated from my husband.  Whatever.  I got to see a lot of the pictures from Kristine's trip to Italy over lunch in between the ceremony and reception.

Sunday I did a little shopping.  I had birthday coupons for my favourite clothes stores, so I got 3 shirts, a light cardigan style sweater, a metal belt, and some socks.  I really want a pair of dark blue pants for work, but I have not found exactly what I want.  There was also this lacy, burgundy top that I tried on, but it was a pinch tight and they did not have a larger size.  I might try a different store.

Sunday evening my dad made stir fry and my brother Tim and his girlfriend joined my parents, my youngest brother, myself and my grandmother for dinner.  Greg made warm brownies with peanut butter chips and pecans for dessert.  My mom's birthday card was a purse.  My dad got me one that made sounds - a police radio announcement about a birthday girl on the loose. 

When I came into work on Monday, my co-worker Jen had bought me a card and cute owl slippers.

I am saving my birthday money to buy myself a new laptop.  Not sure if I will get it before or after Christmas.

Overall turning 36 was pretty good.  It's not quite where I saw myself a year ago, but it's better than the way things were 9-10 months ago.   I am going to make sure that turning 37 is even better. 

Friday's Top Five - Fav Places in Edmonton

Brrrrr the weather has definitely changed this week.  I had to scrape the frost off my car in the mornings and wear more layers to work.

Sunday is my birthday - I can't believe I will be 36, I really feel much younger.  Tonight my parents are taking my youngest brother (who's birthday is on Monday),and myself out for dinner.  Saturday I am attending a wedding with my BFF Kristine.  Sunday my other brother is coming over for dinner and cake.  Actually I think I will have my mom make cupcakes, that way there will not be a whole cake to eat.  Too much temptation.   

For four and a half years I lived 300 km to the south in Calgary.  Most of the time I didn't notice much difference between living there, and living here in Edmonton.  There is more traffic, especially at rush hour.  In fact there is actual rush hour traffic that made my commute to work 2 or 3 times as long as it would have been on a weekend.  When I first moved to Calgary, there were some shops there that Edmonton did not have (Williams Sonoma, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn), but this is no longer the case.  No Save-On-Foods for groceries, but Calgary did have Co-Op.  I did love the view of the mountains on a clear day, especially from a high point on the west side of the city.  The ability to be walking around Banff in under 1.5 hours was a nice perk.

A big upside of the separation from my ex was my move back to Edmonton.  Back to the familiar streets where I was raised.  I love being back home.  Looking back I still can't quite figure out why we didn't consider him moving up here, but that is now a moot point.

It's a little different this time around, as I work downtown.  I wore out a pair of shoes this summer by hitting the pavement on my lunch hours.  I enjoy the walk from Bay Station, up 104 Street, to my office.  Since I am temporarily living with my parents in the SW, I have spent more than one Saturday walking from one side of WEM to the other.

There are quite a few places her in Edmonton that I would love to be reacquainted with - places that I know are awesome, but I have not been in a very long time.  I would define this list as "Places In Edmonton I Want to Spend Time at in the Near Future":

5.  Whyte Avenue

The cute, unique shops, yummy places to eat, theatres, and the interesting people.  I would love to check out The 11 O'Clock Number or Die-Nasty at the Varscona.

4.  Telus World of Science

I might have to borrow someone's child to make this one legit.  I am looking forward to Harry Potter:  The Exhibition.  I would also love to pretend to be a CSI at the Forensics Gallery.

3.  Rexall Place

I feel the need to take in an Oilers game and support my boys.  I would wear my jersey (actually I have two, a home one and an away one) and get to yell at the players (instead of yelling at the tv).

2.  Royal Alberta Museum

The Chop Suey on the Prairies exhibit is supposed to be really good.  Plus I love the Wild Alberta Gallery.  I can't remember the last time I went to the museum.

1.  The Art Gallery of Alberta

I want to go for brunch at Zinc and then take in the art.  This sounds like it might make a good girls trip out or a mother/daughter day.

Check out other awesome places in Edmonton at Divulge With Dani, A Warm Cup of Jo, and A Piece of Apple