I hope wherever you are and whatever you celebrate you have a day filled with love, hope, and peace. 🙂
xoxo
Archive | December, 2016
Day 5 of 20
24 DecDay 5 of the 12 Days of Fitness!
Lemme tell ya, this was a good one! 😀
I had a bunch of stuff to do around my parent’s place and earmarked today to be the day of getting shit done. Before that all started though I decided to go for a walk, in -12C (that is before windchill, I’m not actually sure what the temp with windchill was but the wind was going at 11km/hr and I sure felt it!), while it was snowing…I never claimed to make smart decisions lol
So out I went and I have to admit, I kinda liked it. It was cold, at about the ten minute mark I seriously considered turning back because the wind was cutting through my pants in a brutal way and my legs were burning from the cold but I know from past winters that if I just keep going eventually the pain goes away. It isn’t that I acclimatize, it is that my legs stop feeling temperature, or anything for that matter lol 😉
I fast walked for about 20 minutes then had to turn around due to a road and weather. On the way back I decided to jog a bit so on the parts of sidewalk that were cleared I jogged. When crossing roads I walked because they were super slippy and I really don’t need to fall and get injured right now. Some parts of the sidewalks were un-runnable thanks to snow and ice but I think I got a pretty decent jog in there. I passed two people who were shovelling snow while walking in the one direction and when I was passing them on the way back at a jog they both looked at me like I was a martian lol Admittedly, I wasn’t dressed like a runner so maybe it was my outfit that was confusing them, and not that I was running in that type of weather?
I got wicked windburn on my cheeks from this walk!
Once back at my parent’s place I shovelled snow from their back porch, the front path, and the driveway. By that point I was cold but wasn’t going to start feeling any colder so I figured might as well get it all done at once.
About an hour later you’d never know I shovelled since it had kept snowing and everything was white again *rolls eyes*
I did other things around the house that kept me busy but those two activities are what I am counting towards my fitness for the day for the challenge.
I’d say I can quite confidently check mark this day as a success! 😀
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Day 3 and 4
23 DecI was too busy to write yesterday, sorry!
Today’s post is about Day 3 and Day 4 of the 12 Days of Fitness.
Are you still on track? I sort of am…kind of…maybe?
Yesterday was more of a weight workout type of day vs a cardio workout, which is what I tend to do.
My brother came over to my parent’s place when they were out (I am staying here for a bit over Christmas) and we put up a bunch of art work for my parents. This may not sound like a workout but it was multiple, heavy framed, pieces of art, most of which got put up on high or hard to reach areas. This meant that while my brother did the math for where to place the hooks so each piece was displayed to the best it could be, I was the one holding the artwork up so he could look at it. I was also running up and downstairs grabbing things, moving all over the house while helping with the whole decorate-the-house project and basically just moving a lot…while carrying heavy stuff…I feel that should count.
Do you think it counts?
I dunno…maybe I am fooling myself. I remember at the time of doing all that work thinking “damn, this is harder than expected, this definitely counts as my workout today” but now, looking back, I am of course, doubting myself. *rolls eyes*
For now, let’s assume it counts. Ok?
For today, Day 4, it is my birthday! Yay birthdays! 😀
I have a little tradition for my birthday. I got to WEM, I shop the sales, I enjoy the teeny tiny 5% sales tax that this wonderful province has, I meet up with a friend and we either go for a meal and then a movie or just one of those, or something else completely, and then I make sure I am home in time for a family dinner where the menu was of my choosing.
Oh, I also let myself sleep in a little because if you can’t sleep in on your birthday then when can ya? 😉
I thought to use my walking of the mall as my exercise, which may sound stupid, but that really was the plan! It is a big mall and the stores I wanted to visit are not all that near each other soooooo I figured walk as fast as the crowds will allow from one store to another and get a bit of exercise in. The crowds weren’t that bad, but the line to buy things in some of the stores were unfortunately long and slow, which kinda messed with my plan by (1) making me not able to visit every store on my list and (2) not giving me as much walking time as I expected. The bonus though was that because I was now more time constricted I was walking even faster than I had planned, so maybe that helps to balance things out?
Look! At WEM even the penguins go mall walking! And if it counts as exercise for penguins it should count for people as well, don’t cha think? 😉
Again, I don’t really know if it counts. After dinner and dessert and time with the family I intended to go downstairs, dragging my laptop behind me, and workout to either one of my dvds or a workout video from YouTube but I am just toooooo tired! All I want to do is have a cup of tea, a shower, and crawl in to bed, which is exactly what I am going to do, because really, when you want to pamper yourself what better day than on your birthday?
Detecting a bit of a birthday theme here? 😉 lol
I think I am going to count both days as complying with the rules of the challenge. After all, the rules didn’t specify certain exercises must be done, just that you had to be consciously active and both days I was. Admittedly, with odd activities, but still, I was active! Plus, both days I worked up a bit of a sweat and I definitely felt strain in my arm and shoulder muscles when holding the framed pictures up high for extended periods of time.
So yeah, ok then, while writing this I have decided that both days count. So there! 😉
Tomorrow I may do a more traditional workout though, just to get a bit more on track…maybe…
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Day 2 of 12
21 DecAlrighty peeps, it is Day 2 of the 12 Days of Fitness and I’m sure everyone has been active today, right? Right!
I was up earlier than any human being should be when on vacation but that is what happens when you are staying with parents who wake up early…and when you are going to a morning WW meeting lol
Today was a happy day, went to my meeting, down a pound, entered a new weight decade, out for brunch with the parents, ate a delish meal at Cora’s. It was a random mixture of healthy and non-healthy foods, as most meals out are.
I got Theo’s Omelette which is an omelette filled with oh so many vegetables, covered in cheese, and served with a side of potatoes, fresh fruit, and toast. I asked them to make the omelette with half the normal amount of cheese because restaurants always seem to drown food in cheese and I think it came out with a pretty decent amount.
After brunch it was errand time, borrowed my Dad’s car for a while and bonus points for me, I returned it in the same condition it was in when I left the driveway. 🙂
This evening after dinner I realized that even though I had parked far away and walked when going to all the shops I hadn’t really done anything worthy of being called exercise so I grabbed one of the exercise dvd’s I brought and started working out.
Tonight I did the 5 Mile Walk dvd by Leslie Sansone, it is a “walk at home” dvd which means you are walking on the spot, or forwards and backwards, or side to side, in random combinations and taking her word for it that eventually you have walked 5 miles. I tend to jog for large parts of it, and incorporate more arm work, so I get a better work out.
The woman, Leslie, is so annoying, ugh. But she keeps you moving which is the important part. Normally I play the dvd on my laptop with the volume down low and watch something on tv while walking but my mom joined me this evening so we kept the volume up high and we kept being told to “walk! walk! walk!” lol 😀
My fear that I would fail this challenge by Day 2 has been relieved. Now on to figure out where to fit something in on Day 3!
Did you work out today?
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Day 1 of 12
20 DecIt is Day 1 of The 12 Days of Fitness! You didn’t think I forgot did you? 😉
Like I said in the original post about the 12 Days of Fitness all that is required for this challenge is to find time everyday, for 12 days, starting December 20th, to be physically active.
What the activity is doesn’t matter, it can be a walk around your neighbourhood, following along to an exercise dvd, taking part in a plank challenge. Whatever! Just do something active. Every. Single. Day.
Today I went bowling. 🙂
See? Not crazy active. Not some big massive workout. But it still counts! I played two games, met up with old friends, had a blast, and most importantly (for this challenge anyways), was active when otherwise I most likely wouldn’t have been.
I contemplated following along to an exercise dvd in the evening but by the time the thought came to me it was already a bit too late. But that is ok because there is always tomorrow and not like the exercise dvd is going anywhere lol
What activity did you do today?
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Junior Snowmaggedon
9 DecSnowmaggedon didn’t quite happen. Did we get snow? Sure. Was it at levels that made functioning outside of a person’s home almost impossible? Nope! The more important question, was it pretty? So freakin gorgeous! I once again took a stupid amount of pictures of snow. SNOW! *rolls eyes*
When I left for work it was big fat flakes falling, I was grinning like a fool the entire time I was getting snow off the suv aaaaand while I was driving to work. Snow like that gives tires great traction so the driving was a breeze…well, for me. Some people appeared to be having trouble but it seemed like most people remembered the horror that was last Monday and were taking extra care with their speed and such.
It continued to snow for pretty much all of my work shift, at some point it turned in to more of a slushy snow instead of the pretty stuff which is unfortunate but oh well, had to happen at some point I suppose. shrug.
By the time work was over it was raining and everything was melting, sadness. If temps get to freezing over night tomorrow will be interesting, what with every surface being like an ice rink but that’s a problem for another day.
When I got home from work it was about 9:45p and I reeeeally wanted to go for a walk but most of the sidewalks were not cleared and I had no desire to be picking my way across uneven terrain so instead I grabbed a shovel and started shoveling.
Get this…I really enjoyed myself!
Shoveling the snow turned in to a multi-tasking dream lol
(1) I am counting it as my exercise for the day – hey don’t judge, I’m lazy and have to count whatever I can!
(2) I not only did the path and sidewalk for the place I live in but also for the neighbour and then for the house beyond the neighbours so that’s my good deed for the day
(3) I made tomorrow’s shoveling easier by clearing what had already built up today
I maaaay not have done my poor back / shoulders / neck much good since they are still hurting from this past Monday’s car accident but I’d like to think it is better to be at least partially active so the muscles don’t all seize up and become unhappy with all movement then to be lazy and doing nothing. Besides, shoveling snow can be quite soothing, especially when no one else is out; it is so quiet, so pretty, so zen like.
All of that is only here fyi, in any other part of the country I’d be shoveling snow in bitterly freezing temperatures and I’d be complaining louder than anybody else out there. Here though, it was pleasant out, didn’t even need to bundle up. 🙂
Don’t mind all the pictures of trees, I just really like trees covered in snow. 🙂
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Preparing for Snowmaggedon
8 DecApparently we are about to be hit by snowmaggedon which of course means the stores were full of people today…buying Christmas present lol
Depending which weather report you believe the snow is going to start within the hour, continue on all night and tomorrow, be combined with strong winds, which will create white out conditions and basically tomorrow will be ridiculous.
The other main weather report says it will start snowing around 2am, snow throughout the day Friday, and then turn in to freezing rain around 2pm.
Gotta say, if I have to choose between white out snow conditions or freezing rain I choose white out.
Either way, it is looking like there is going to be a lot of snow to deal with. What comes along with snow? Power outages. Crazy driving conditions. Restricted body movement because of wearing so many clothing layers. Ya know, normal winter stuff. 😉
So, in preparation for possibly losing power in my place I stocked up on food, in a sense. I bought a foot long sub from Subway, got them to cut it in half, and saved half for tomorrow.
One for today, one for tomorrow.
Look how organized and in planning mode I am! Seriously, it is a wonder I have survived in Canada this long lol
Last time I lost power I went to Tim Horton’s, ordered a tea for my travel mug so it would stay hot longer, a tea in one of their to-go cups, a sandwich and I believe I even got a doughnut. Then I hunkered down in the apartment with a throw blanket, the cat, a flashlight that I borrowed from my landlord and a book.
This time I at least got some ready to eat food in advance!
I still haven’t gotten a flashlight though…
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Dinner and a Movie
7 DecA friend and I met up tonight for, in case you didn’t guess from the title, dinner and a movie.
We went to a place called Raglan’s Bistro on Lonsdale and had a pretty decent dinner. Normally I rave about places I eat at, and there was nothing actually wrong with what I ate, but it wasn’t oh-my-gawd-you-must-go-there-right-now-and-eat kind of a meal. It was a good food, decent price, left with a full belly kind of meal.
I checked out their menu before we went but ended up changing my mind on the advice of the waitress so instead of the Vegetarian Burrito I got the Quesadilla el Vegetal (vegetarian quesadilla), it had zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, mushrooms and mozzarella with salsa, chipotle sour cream and a green salad, for $13. I was trying to be good so I asked for it to be made with half the normal amount of cheese. It was still good, despite having noticeably less cheese, kind of proving that restaurants put way too much cheese on in the first place…at least proving it to me lol
We split an appie, Coconut Prawns, Mmm! The waitress forgot to put in the order so when our main course came first and we asked about the shrimp the look of confusion on the guy who brought our meal was real. They did a rush order for us so it all turned out ok in the end. 🙂
For the movie we went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and holy crap that movie was good! How does JK Rowling come up with this stuff? Her imagination is a wonderous thing. 😀
The movie theatre, for reasons not explained, was super cold so we ended up not only wearing our winter jackets while watching the movie but also putting on gloves and my friend put on her toque lol I would’ve put my hood up but I’m vain and didn’t want to mess my hair lol 😉
We decided this year to not exchange Christmas presents, instead we are waiting until the New Year and going to have ourselves a day trip adventure, yay!
She however did not forget my birthday, which oddly enough, I kind of had lol She bought me such a pretty ornament, the picture doesn’t do it justice! She also got me the best socks, I have started collecting funny / odd / unique socks and these totally fit the bill. 🙂
It was a fun night, totally worth freezing my ass off if I get to spend time with her. 🙂
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12 Days of Christmas Fitness Challenge
7 DecTis the month to gain ridiculous amounts of weight super fast if not careful! With so many social gatherings, and treats, and just general feelings of wanting to eat alllll the food this month it can be easy to wake up January 1st and realize your jeans aren’t fitting quite as well anymore.
I so don’t want that to happen to me!
Yes I know that being healthy is 80% what you eat and only 20% exercise but let’s be real here people, there will be food aplenty all over the place and I am sure I will end up eating more than planned.
So the idea is to help minimize some of the food damage I will end up doing by ensuring I stay active this month.
Here is the plan…
The challenge begins December 20th and goes to December 31st. You don’t have to be out there running marathons, or making massive gains at the gym, I’m not looking for crazy changes in fitness activity. All I’m looking for is fitting exercise in to the daily routine over those days when so many of us skip exercising.
Just because there are a million and one things to do over the season doesn’t mean we should stop finding time each day to take care of ourselves. How else do you expect to enter 2017 feeling your best if you load up on food in this last month and don’t at least try to burn some of it off?
Some ideas for exercise could be:
- a walk around the block
- mall walking if you are somewhere cold
- during the commercials do some squats, or sit-ups, or planks, or push-ups, or whatever you are able to do
- take the stairs instead of elevators
- park far away from the doors of the places you are going
- snowball fight! build a snow fort! basically anything with snow!
- pop in an exercise dvd
- play tag with your kids, or nieces and nephews, or your friend’s kids
You get the idea!
So who is with me? Who is willing to try reeeeally hard to make the time everyday, for 12 days, over the busiest time of the year, to be good to ourselves and fit some exercise in to our days?
C’mon, you know you want to!
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Snow Day!
6 DecI live in the one section of Canada that doesn’t get a true “Canadian winter” every year so snow, any snow, is exciting and fun and destroys the city in mere minutes lol
This year we got snow! Yay! So pretty. So seasonal. So easy to have an accident in, sigh.
This is where my driver’s side mirror used to be…
Now it is just some cables sticking out looking rather pathetic.
The gist of the incident is this…
I was driving, suuuuper slow, down a hill in my neighbourhood, I went over a speed bump, lost traction, started sliding down the hill, couldn’t stop myself so instead I tried to control the skid and make it around the corner that I was headed towards and instead I smooshed into the meridian that divides the traffic on the cross street. I managed to avoid two trees, so yay me! but the driver’s side of my suv became super close friends with a post, sigh. The post sheared the driver’s side mirror clean off and continued to scrape down the side of my suv until getting jammed in the back tire’s wheel well.
Good times! 😉
I was stuck there, waiting for a tow truck that wasn’t going to show for an hour and a half when a guy stopped, came over, and managed to manhandle the post to an almost flat position on the ground so I could gently roll over it and escape. Woohoo for escape!
I proceeded on my way and immediately became aware of just how much I use my driver’s side mirror because holy crap I went to look in to it what felt like a million times only to find myself staring at wires. Wires! Ugh.
I filed an online claim with my insurance people and got an automated response they’d get back to me in two days. Two days! Uh…I need my mirror now not two days from now! So I called them later in the day to find out what I should do, had the longest convo of my life lol, but the guy I spoke to did all the stuff to my claim right then that would normally take two days because I did my claim online, and next thing you know I have a case manager, a claim number, a list of of approved auto shops to pick from and strict instructions to make sure I get the courtesy car while the shop works on mine because I have gold-star something or other that entitles me to a car.
The accident was Monday morning and by Tuesday afternoon I had the suv in the shop being looked at. They managed to screw the mirror on to the side of my suv and then duct tape it to secure it. It isn’t pretty but it is functional so oh well. There is a bit of a scheduling problem for getting it officially fixed though…they can take it Dec 19th and work on it over Christmas but I have no way to get it there and then get me home to grab my stuff and then get me to the airport in time for my flight. The other option is wait until January to get it fixed and get a courtesy car. I’m still trying to figure out what to do…sometimes being a grown-up and having to figure shit out kinda sucks…
So instead of thinking about the damage to my suv lets enjoy some of the pretty snow pictures!
The Amazing Shrinking Woman 