Let's tone it down a notch

I flip flop a lot when it comes to my health and exercise. I think I'm going to stand strong with this opinion though.

I'm going to stop stressing about my weight and my body image. I'm not going to beat myself up if I missed a work out, or if I gorge on Panda Express. That being said, I'm still going to track on My Fitness Pal, just to make sure I don't let myself go TOO badly. There is a difference between health freak and junk food junkie. I'd like to sit comfortably in the middle.

Lately I've been stressing about 20 pounds. The lowest weight I can remember being is 135 pounds. I haven't budged under 155 pounds in months, and that's finally okay. I have bigger things to worry about and to focus my energy on then being depressed over my recent bump to size 13 jeans. Who cares! The profession I want to get into doesn't look at me and judge me based off of my size. They look at my drawings, my sketches, paintings, mosaics, my ART. I need to focus more on that, and once I get into a rhythm, I can start to add work outs here and there.

List of things I have on my mind at any given moment:

• I gotta practice drawing in photoshop.
• I gotta get a sketchbook and draw in it daily. 
• I gotta work on my mosaics.
• I wanna watch LOST. SO BADLY. 
• Oops, gotta start wedding planning!
• Shit, have I worked out today?
• When is the next time I work at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory?
• When is the next time I'm a runner for Vino van Gogh?
• Damnit, I teach with Vino in XXX days, gotta practice teaching.
• It's Thursday, gotta head to my internship and Life Drawing class.
• What am I going to have for lunch?
• So, how broke am I?
• Have I showered lately?

lump on a log

I can't remember the last time I blogged. I bet my last entry said something like, "Today is the day, gonna be good, gonna exercise, gonna eat right, etc etc etc."

I hate writing those kinda of entires because I come back to the blog weeks later, having failed that entry. I weigh more now then I have since 2007. I physically feel like such a bum, and I hate it. I hate feeling like this, and it's no ones fault except mine. I feel like all the progress I made throughout the year has gone down the toilet, and I have to start over.

A few weeks ago I decided to go for a run. I went a block when my right knee, left thigh, and hip twinged. I had to walk the rest of my route. I remember when I first started to run for fun earlier this year. It sucked in the beginning, but it felt so rewarding! I see posters for random 5K's around Batavia, and I get so sad. I couldn't run one tomorrow if I had to. Remember when I ran through a heavy tourist area of Montreal in my booty shorts? AND FELT GOOD?! I want to be like that again.

Needless to say, I feel like a stuffed sausage in my bridesmaids dress for my brothers wedding.

Art. Art everywhere.

It's officially been a month since the move back to Batavia, and it's officially been a week since Julien has also been here. So, that has been fantastic. The past couple days, though, he has really been pushing me to do art. I've been slacking (for some unknown reason), and I have been not wanting to practice my drawing or work on my George Harrison mosaic. But he told me, "This is your career... you have to make time for it!" and that really stuck. If I want to have a career in art, I have to take it more seriously. It's not just a hobby anymore, I need to focas.

So maybe this will become an art blog slash health slash personal blog. Huh.

Tonight Julien and I watched the movie, "Domino." I liked it for many reasons.

• The cinematography was awesome. 
• The colors and filters were awesome.
• Keira Knightly is hot (and you got to see her boobies!).
• It was generally interesting. 
• and the main character is so kick ass, you can't NOT love her. 

Domino, the main character, sticks true to herself the whole movie. It's nice to see a female character who isn't totally focused on finding love, and who does things for the greater good, not just personal gain. Plus there was guns, smoking, porn, and a sex scene.
-------
Exercise: cleaning, DDPYoga, elliptical while watching LOST.

It begins... (again)

I have decided today is the day.

You know, what they say is 100% correct. Once you stop exercising daily, it's a million times harder to get back to exercising daily. Today I plan on starting DDPYoga and maybe get some cardio in.

Yesterday my mom and I started to look for foods with 10 or less ingredients. That, too, will be hard for me to transition into. For example, instead of opening a can of black beans, I have to boil, drain, shake, bake, broil, and sauté them. Opening up a can is much easier.

I'm keeping my My Fitness Pal account for looking up references to food when I'm out with friends or family. I don't plan on counting calories or tracking my weight using that website. Because, like I stated in previous entries, I don't want to count calories forever.

moving fail.

Remember when I was supposed to move back to Chicago the weekend of the 23rd?

Nope.

Complications arose, which forced me to stay in Montreal for at least a week longer. Which means my start over healthy lifestyle got postponed another week. Did somebody say cookies, chocolate, soda, and cupcakes?! (ugh.)

I've been thinking about my start over. Here are my goals:

• I want to cut out most processed foods. Boxed mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, ketchup, BBQ sause, cookies, hotdogs, etc. I want to abide by the rule of ingredients. Saying if the ingredient list contains more than 10, it's not for me. So I'll eat more veggies, nuts, fruits, stuff like that. 
• I'm going to start DDP Yoga and follow the provided routine. 
• I'm going to do cardio every other day. Spinning, running, elliptical, biking. Rotate what I do so my muscles do not get into a routine. 
• I don't want to count calories anymore. I was becoming obsessed with the numbers, and it's just not me. If I eat mainly unprocessed foods, I don't think I'll need to count calories anyway. I still want to record what I eat, and how much I exercise, but I don't want to obsess over it. Why? Because I know I won't want to count calories for the rest of my life. 
• I want to record my weight weekly (Tuesdays) and record my measurements (waist, hips, thighs, etc) and take progress pictures on the 1st of the month. 
• No more soda.
• No more picking.
• I want to brush my teeth twice a day. 

Honestly, aside from this blog, I want my journey to be a bit more private. The encouragement is great, but I don't want to do all this and only strive for that "Way to go!" comment on My Fitness Pal. Like satisfaction will come out of a lousy comment made by some person I don't know. It's more annoying to me than anything else. 

SO! This all begins once I move someplace where I control what I eat. 

Small Hiatus

In light of current life events, I'm going to have to put this blog on hiatus, at least until July.

Life events include:

• Packing the apartment.
• Moving back to Illinois.
• Unpacking life.
• Dealing with the United States Government and Immigration. 

I'm not sure if I'll have the time or the space to exercise in-house. And given we need to eat the rest of our food, it looks like I'll be eating a lot of pasta and canned beans and tuna. Thus, I'm not going to be concerned with my diet until I'm settled in Illinois. 

Julien and I will be separated until the US Government decides he can move in with me. We were apart for a year, together for a year, and now we'll be apart for up to 6 more months. It sucks, it's unexpected, I just hope we can settle the Immigration stuff quickly and correctly so we can continue our life together. 

Otherwise, I have a few prompts for when I begin blogging regularly again. Until then, stay healthy!

I had a few really good prompts... but I don't remember what they were. I must make notes more often.

Since I'm on a mini vacation, I probably won't post everyday, but rather a larger conglomerate at the end of the week or beginning of next week. Just know that I've been within my TDEE since coming back to IL, and that I haven't gone crazy... yet.

Places I love that are near Batavia, but not Montreal.
Panera
Steak 'n Shake
Panda Express
Chipotle
Caribou
Gioradano's
Noodles and Company
Target
Kohls
Hobby Lobby

Healthy and Safe Travels

I'm currently at Burlington International Airport in Vermont. By 8 o'clock tonight (hopefully), I'll be in Chicago, visiting for a week. I'm excited to see friends and family, but, honestly, I miss my puppies children and future husband like crazy. Cray-cray.

Anyway, I knew there would be nothing healthy at the airport, so I decided to pack a few apples for the trip. I know, I'm sooo healthy. And, even though it probably wasn't a smart idea, I bought a 1 liter sized bottle of water, ironically called Smart Water. Four seats away from me sat a trendy looking, very pretty woman, drinking the same water. For some reason, it gave me a confidence boost.

I also bought a magazine and read an article about Miranda Lambert. There was a quote I loved in particular:

Everybody needs a partner like Blake Shelton. 

I dropped the ball

DAMNIT! I missed another Vs. Thursday....

Feel-Good, Freak-Out Friday, I won't miss out on another one of these though!

Feel-Good: I just finished day 9, level 2 of Jillian's 30 Day Shred. It's amazing, when I did day 1, I could barely do anything. I mean, I still hate squat thrusts, but I don't have to do the modified version anymore. I rock it out with Natalie! Also, I'm going to Illinois for a week on Sunday to visit my family and friends. Hopefully I'll continue to run and continue doing the 30 Day Shred while I'm there. It's gotten to the point where I don't make time for fitness, it's become a natural part of my day, and I enjoy doing it.


Freak-Out: I went to the vet yesterday with both puppies. Let me tell you, walking 2 dogs at once is no cake walk, especially when both dogs are right-sided walkers. Anyway, our 1 year old pug weighs 32 pounds! The vet compared him to a 300 pound human. Pugs are only supposed to weigh 18-20 pounds... And since they're prone to breathing problems, because of their squashed faces, it's imperative that we keep him at a healthy weight. So, we're switching him over to diet dog food, walking him more often, and giving him less treats and table scraps. It's scary, Chubbs has really become part of our family, and Julien and I adore him. We want to make sure he's absolutely healthy and fit.

Oops, I don't care!

Tonight, I ate 1/2 of the frozen pizza I made. Do I feel guilty? Not really.

I haven't had a night where I sincerely didn't care about what I ate in a long time. And damn, it felt good to not over analyze the slices as they were entering my mouth.

I think it's good to have evenings like this. I hear it boosts your metabolism, and makes you body work extra hard the next day. Not sure if it's true, but I guess we'll see about that tomorrow. It is a cardio day tomorrow, after all.

Right now I'm at 2292 calories for today. My TDEE is 2330 and you're not supposed to eat under your BMR (1510) or above your TDEE... so I guess that means I'm still ok!

Meme Monday

What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?

Should I be stereotypical and say World Peace or End World Hunger? (Why did I capitalize those words?)

Change about the world. Not just my world, THE world. I think I'd like to make education free, or at least at a minimal cost. No matter who you are, where you're from, what you did (as long as you love me), everyone deserves to be educated, if they choose to be. I'm not just talking about math, science, and history. I'm talking about sexual education, fine arts, if someone wants to know how to make a cardboard box, they should have access to that kind of information... 

Holy crap, do I sound like a librarian, or what? 

Unrelated, last night I spontaneously decided to quit soda. Cold turkey, no more for me. Nothing good comes out of it, even especially the diet stuff. Along with this new lifestyle change, I'm going to try to eat mostly unprocessed foods. I say mostly because I live with someone, and we eat together, simple as that. I want to make a rule saying, only eat food with XX amount of ingredients, but I'll have to do more research before I figure out what that number is. The date of this big change is probably going to be mid-July for reasons I cannot discuss because, if I do, I'll ruin the surprise! 

Kelly Osbourne

I wish I had added Miss Kelly Osbourne to my list of beautiful women I did a few entries back. Tonight I decided to google her, and, of course, I found all her weight loss goodies.

Now, I've always loved her. I love her quirky family, I love her brother, I love everything about her. She had pink hair when I had pink hair, we were both chubby, and even though I didn't swear back then, I felt something towards her. Like we could be friends. That's why it's called 'Easy' Jack, 'Easy Mac...

Anyway, enough of the sob story. I found this page, which links to many articles regarding her diet and her exercise routine. Seeing someone, who I thought was so much like me back in the day, seeing her change and transform into this beautiful goddess of a woman really gives me hope. Lately I've been hating what I see in the mirror, but reading about her success, and about how she's much happier really inspires me.

She changed herself, and her attitude towards food and exercise in the best possible way. No diet fads, not a lot of pressure from the media, I feel like she really did it for herself, and that's what I love about her and her story.

Absense

I've been away for a while. I've been slacking on the Vs Thursdays and Feel-Good, Freak-Out Friday, and for that, I apologize.

I haven't been slacking, though, with my "healthy" life. I've been eating at a higher calorie intake (1864) for about 2 weeks now. While it feels good knowing I can eat more than I was accustomed to, I found myself eating worse than I was accustomed to. For example, last weekend, Julien and I went out or had take out or fast food for 4 days in a row, yet I was always under my calorie goal. I felt like crap, but I was under, and I don't think that's how it works. I should be eating healthier higher calorie foods. Just because I have room to splurge with a cheeseburger, doesn't mean I should.

Since then, I've gotten better with food. Still not the greatest, but better.

When it comes to a healthier lifestyle, working out and getting active isn't going to be my problem, it's the heathy eating and the vegetables. I'm thinking about making my green smoothies again, since it's warm outside and a nice treat after a workout. I don't like green/yellow/red/orange peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers. Last time I ate raw broccoli I felt like puking, and I only see myself eating asparagus at dinner time. I'm not sure what a healthy salad looks like, though I'm sure I can find recipes.

I just love food, and I have a hard time saying no and/or eating in moderation. Because, let's face it, if there is an open bag of Doritos in front of me, I won't hesitate to eat the whole bag, and feel terrible about it afterwards.

Top 100

Maxim's top 100 hottest ladies is out. I imagine people expect me to say:

Maxim is so sexist! Every lady on this list is a skinny supermodel. Why aren't there any plus size ladies?! Blah blah beauty standards blah!

BUT, I'm not going to say that. Body shaming is body shaming is body shaming. We expect these kinds of ladies to come out of the Maxim world, I'm not going to complain.

Being that I'm a lady who finds other ladies to be beautiful, but not personally sexually appealing, I want to give my list of the top 5 ladies who are most beautiful (in no particular order).

(Explanation: While I think a naked female body is more aesthetically pleasing than a naked male body, I am not sexually driven to females. I am all for, though, ladies who dig other ladies. I don't hate! Get your love on, guuurls!)

 Kate Winslet is beautiful. She's curvy, she's cute, and she was all like, "Put your hands on me Jack..."  I loved her character in Eternal Sunshine. I love her quirkyness, and her voluptuous body. Total package.

Sarah Wayne Callies is beautiful. You may recognize her from The Walking Dead, as the terrible mother who keeps on losing her son in a Zombie apocolypse. Or from Prison Break, as the terrible doctor who lets 8 prisoners escape from her office. I find her to be old fashioned, simple, down to earth. Not super extravagant, just someone you'd like to watch a movie with, or knit.

 Emma Watson is beautiful. Do I really need an explanation? Talent, brains, beauty. Plus she's English, people dig accents!

 Liv Tyler is beautiful. When I was younger, I would print out pictures of her and put them on my assignment notebooks. Her eyes are icey, and it compliments her dark hair, I just love everything about her.

Last, but not least, Katilette is beautiful. You may know her as the wife of video blogger Shay Carl. She had her own YouTube account, and I recently posted a video of her singing with her sister and father. She's a gorgeous, talented, crazy-wacky mother of 4 beautiful children. Anyway, whoever can pop out 4 kids and still look this fresh and amazing deserves an award!

Just cut it off

I knew this post was coming... I just didn't know how soon it would come.

This is how the world sees me.

This is my trouble area.

This is the least favorite thing about my body. My handful of skin and flab.

The shorts are size 11. I don't care about my legs. I don't care about the thigh gap. I don't care that my upper arms are flabtastic. I don't even care what size or weight I am. They're just numbers and I could care less about that stuff. It's just my stomach area that I would love to either tone or just chop off! Snip snip, gone. Take all that extra skin and fat, haul it away and give it to someone who needs it. Donate my skin to science.

It's one of those days where, no matter what I put on, no matter how i look in the mirror, all I see is blargh. I hate days like this.

(To end this on a good note, you see, in the last photo, to the left of my elbow? That's my autographed photo of Joey McIntyre. It's a prized possession of mine.)

Meme Monday

When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

I don't know if I like this question. Hopefully, no. I'm engaged to a wonderful man. I'm going back to art school. I have a family I love and adore... I don't really want to do crazy things like sky diving or base jumping. I guess I could say I want to learn how to knit a sweater, and I probably won't... but that's a little thing. Nothing I would sweat over in the afterlife that I didn't do.

Anyway.

Unrelated to anything, but my "goal weight" is around 130-135. Not sure that'll EVER happen (maybe that's the one thing I'll say but not do), but if it does, I'll be the weight I was in 6th grade. Who else can say, "I want to weigh how much I was in 6th grade!" It's freaky.

I've also been feeling really crappy the past few days. Between not sleeping well (80+ degree (F) weather paired with no AC and having the curse of needing to sleep with a blanket) and eating terrible food (burgers, poutine, pizza, cake, ice cream...), it's no wonder I feel like crap. It's true what they say. The healthier you eat, the better you feel. I'm just so lumpy and gross right now... OH and it's Victoria Day, so the grocery stores are closed (apparently), and I'm out of fruit...

Bacon Cheeseburgers Extravaganza!

I've been really slacking on my weekly Thursday and Friday blog prompts. I feel like such a cheater when I simply change the dates, like I'm not an authentic blogger. So, let's just try again next week.

Last night, Julien and I went out for drinks and dinner with his animation team from work. While everyone enjoyed a beer, I ordered a diet coke. The bar gave me an orange slice on my glass (as opposed to a lemon or lime), and I thought that was pretty interesting. Never seen that before.

One of Julien's coworkers wanted to take us to an authentic burrito place, but when we showed up, they were closed. He was bummed, saying it felt like he got stood up on a date. We ended up going to some rinky-dink diner called Steerburger, and all of us, including the vegetarian, ordered the bacon cheeseburger. The waitress had said it was the hottest item on the menu, so we took her word for it.

And oh boy, the burgers came out, they were at least 3 1/2 inches round. They were juicy. The lettuce was fresh. Apparently the tomatoes were garden-like. The cheese was melty, but not too melty. There was mayo and onion and crispy bacon (not burnt, not slimy, just right), and it was probably the best burger I've ever eaten in my entire life. Everyone else agreed, and we think the vegetarian turned into a carnivore, thanks to the burger. The best part was, it was only $5! Julien and I spent $20 (including the tip) on 2 burgers, a poutine, and a coke. A-may-zing.

And surprisingly, after eating something so terrible for you, I wasn't over my calories. I still had 289 remaining, meaning if I really wanted to feel like a pig, we could have gotten dessert.

Fat Shame

Being Elmo

Last night I watched a fantastic documentary about Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who makes Elmo come to life. It's called Being Elmo.

The reason why I loved this film was because it shows how much success and happiness that can come out of doing something you love and are passionate about. It encourages the idea of being yourself and following your dream.

Growing up, Clash wasn't always the most popular, and he sometimes got made fun of because of his puppets. Kids were criticizing him for playing with dolls, etc. But he looked past those comments and stuck to it.

It's an amazingly inspirational movie, I suggest it highly, and it's even on Netflix! Take a gander at the trailer, if you need more convincing.

New Measurements!

It's the 15th, which means I take new measurements!

Neck: 12 inches (no change)
Waist: 29 inches (-.8 inches)
Hips: 39.5 inches (-1.3 inches)

I'd rather see myself losing inches than losing pounds. While both would be nice, seeing these numbers feels better.

Yesterday, I figured out my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).  So, basically, my TDEE, which is 2330, is how many calories I need daily to maintain my weight. My BMR, which is 1510, is the number of calories I burn if I stay in bed all day. According to the websites I've read and the people I've talked to on MFP, it's best to eat at least your BMR. In order to find out how many calories you should eat to lose weight, subtract 15%-20% from your TDEE. Thusly, my new calorie goal is 1864, daily.

I bet that was confusing. Here are a few links I used to figure all this out:

BMR Calculator
Fat2Fit
Scooby's Workshop

I... was... running!

Yesterday I had a great victory within myself when it came to my run. Since it was hot outside (nearly 80 degrees F), I decided to run in shorts. Now, I've never been comfortable in shorts. In high school and most of college I never wore them. I thought my legs were fat and jiggled and they had so many imperfections, I couldn't let anyone see them.

I'm starting to get out of that funk. Yesterday I donned my best pair of athletic shorts, and went for a nice run in Old Montreal, near the water. This part of Montreal is filled with cobblestones, horse and carriage rides, and best of all, tourists. SO MANY TOURISTS.

And you know what? I ran past those tourists in my short shorts gleaming with pride. I didn't care that they were riding up, or that my thighs were burning. I was proud to be running, and proud to be comfortable with myself, so that I didn't care what people thought. I never thought I'd get to this stage. I never thought I'd enjoy running so much. It's strange, I like it.

Talent

One of the YouTubers I follow tweeted this out yesterday. Chris Thompson is a guy from Chicago (represent!), who now lives in LA, but he has an amazing voice. Sadly, though, he often gets criticized for his weight, and if often called, a fat Ricky Martin.

Fat?! Are you serious?! If he's fat, I'm a whale. But seriously, he has amazing talents, and the fact that people can't see that and have to put him down for something so trivial is heartbreaking.

I look up to him because he tries his best to look through those hate comments and he seems like a generally wonderful guy. I haven't had the pleasure of running into him at O'hare airport yet, but I know I will one day (creepy?).

Here is a link to his Headphones Recommended playlist on his main channel. He made Coldplay bearable for me, which is a major feat. As did this man.

Feel-Good, Freak-Out Friday

Feel Good: Well, today is day 5 of the 30 Day Shred. I'm not sure if there actually is a difference in my body, but I feel pretty good. 1/6 of the way done! Also, unrelated, but my favorite YouTuber released a song this week that I have been obsessed with. Check it out!
Freak Out: Passive agressive tweets.

Last night we went to an Italian restaurant for Julien's brothers birthday. I saved up 1200 calories for dinner, and you better believe I used them all. Garlic bread, meat, fettucini alfredo, more garlic bread, it was delicious.

Worlds Fattest Woman Continued

I think it's important people see this video.

Worlds Fattest Woman

This article was floating around the MFP forums this morning. To sum it up, it's about this woman who has a goal of becoming the worlds fattest woman at over 1200 pounds, yet weighing in currently at 800 pounds. 30,000 calories a day. The article talks about her upcoming wedding, and features photos of her and her fiance.

Many people on the forums were shaming her. And it made me sad.

How could she do that? She looks disgusting! How can she be getting married, yet I'm still single? Look at her legs, they have layers!! Gross. Ugh... I just puked a little in my mouth, thanks HAHAHA


Now, this wouldn't be a personal goal of mine, but who am I to judge? She seems happy, she's still walking around, she's not depressed and just laying around all day. If she knows the consequences of her actions, we shouldn't judge her so quickly.

Body shaming is body shaming, no matter the body.

Myself

I started a Facebook event yesterday. Just a little something that let's friends know when I'm coming back to Illinois. I want to have a picnic, bring a volleyball, maybe have a few friends bring their instruments, just hang out without any worries.

It got me thinking how I don't have to compromise being myself around my friends from the states. They know I don't enjoy getting drunk. They know I don't enjoy going out to bars or clubs. And they know I'd rather hang out at a coffee shop until it closes, then run around town looking for an open bagel shop because I'm craving bagels. And then go back to my house and watch, "Mr. Beans Holiday."

I don't know. I guess I'm having a tiny problem committing myself to friendships while I'm in Montreal. I don't want to compromise myself by going out to bars and going out clubbing, when I know that's not who I am. It seems, though, that all I ever get invited to is that. I decline politely because I simply do not enjoy doing those thing, and I have a sinking feeling that my friends here will just stop inviting me. One thing I can do, though, is invite them out places. I'll do that soon.

I can't change who I am for the sake of friendships. If I did, it would go against what this whole blog is about: being yourself, loving yourself, accepting yourself.

I guess I just feel like a rhino in a flock of unicorns.

Meme Monday

If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?

Wow, that's deep. My guess would be we're afraid to do the things we like, either because we'll spend too much money, or we might fail. People like to feel safe, and that means making a decent living doing something they don't necessarily want to do, but they feel like they have to do.

Hey! This question closely relates to my life right at this moment. I haven't gone very public with this bit of information yet (just on twitter, which is not publicly visible), but I'm I think it's time. I'm dropping out of McGill and going after my art dreams. I won't be returning to Library School in the fall, instead I'll be busting my ass doing an intensive online art program with The Art Department. I pursued Library School in the first place to ensure safety. I'd always have a job because, even though you may think libraries are going out of style, they won't ever actually do that. But I wasn't happy, so I'm doing something I've always loved, which is art. I always seem to run back to it, so it must be a sign that it's what I'm meant to do. I honestly cannot wait!

DDPYOGA

Sorry for my lack of Feel-Good's and Freak-Out's. Julien has been using my mac a lot lately, so my prime blogging hours have been compromised.

Yesterday I did another 5K for the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital in Laval, QC. My sister in law was running it (as a manager, not literally), so I got a discount to participate. Seeing as I was less ready for this one, my time was a bit worse, but only by a few minutes. I clocked in at 36-something minutes. But, I did enjoy this run more. Instead of running around a racetrack with nothing to look at, we went around neighbourhoods, surrounded by houses and cars. Definitely a lot more interesting. There were also a lot less people (700 to last weeks 7000), which I enjoyed.

In regards to my exercise habits, I'm going to start relying less on the gym. For many reasons, I no longer wish to go there, but the main one would be the $43 a month I have to pay to be a member. Now that it's nice outside, I'd like to start running first thing in the morning. This is the plan:

• Cardio (running) every other day.
• 30 Day Shred every weekday (weekends off)
• Walking Chubbs nightly, if possible. 

When the 30 Day Shred is over, and if I liked it, I'd like to try other Jillian Michael's workouts. Start a tiny collection of work out DVDs.

I'd also like to try DDPYoga. DDP, you know, like Diamond Dallas Page, the professional wrestler. I've always had a soft spot for him, not quite sure why... Anyway, I first found out about it through the video below. I highly recommend you watch it.

I just rewatched, "Hairspray" after not seeing it since it was in theatres. Like many movies I saw when I was younger, I like this movie a lot more now. Tracy Turnblad's optimism shines throughout this whole movie, and you hardly ever see her without a smile. She gives confidence to so many people (including her mother John Travolta), I nearly cried.

Why can't we all be as fabulous as Tracy?

Vs. Thursday

Shock vs. Awe

Awe, because shock usually implies something bad. For example, look at these scenarios:

You're pregnant?! I'm so shocked!!
You're cheating on me?! I'm so shocked AND AM GOING TO KILL YOU!

vs. 

Look at that those beautiful fireworks! I'm in awe!
You surprised me with chocolates, a diamond ring, and a trip to Disney World? I'M IN AWE!!

See? 

If you chose shock: You're an exhibitionist and chronically dissatisfied, a loud talker.

If you chose awe: You're romantic and idealistic, may have a lisp.

realization

Hello. My name is Aimee, and my weight doesn't matter much to me anymore.

I've been getting really frustrated with myself lately because I've been working out, eating better, but not seeing any improvements on the scale. None. I've thought to myself, If nothing is changing, why bother? I've thought that many times...

But, you know what? I think I'm in one of those bodies where it just needs toning. And I think that's why I haven't seen any changes on the scale. You know how, when you first begin a weight loss journey, you lose quicker than towards the end? For example, with me. I lost the bulk of my weight in middle school, and have been sitting where I am now (basically) for 8+ years. And it's only now that I'm really wanting to tone up and get firm. Muscles and what-not.

Now that I realize I'm at that stage, the scale shouldn't doesn't matter to me. Instead, I'll just be taking measurements every 15th of the month.

Today I ran/walked aimlessly for a good 45 minutes or so. It's been a very stressful few days, so it felt good to just run. So... you just ran! 

Meme... Tuesday?

I was so busy yesterday, I didn't have the chance to blog, but I really liked the question that was for meme Monday, so I'm going to do it today.

Which is worse, failing or never trying?

Never trying. For example, would I have known that I hate library school without trying? Nope. And in a way, I failed library school. And I'm okay with that. Failing isn't such a terrible thing. I remember in 4th grade, I had this really strict teacher. She gave me my first D, and at the same time, gave my friend her first F. We cried, and I still remember my friends face, lathered in tears, the sound of her voice, cracking, "I got an F..." I didn't know it back then, but grades don't mean anything, really. Whether you fail, whether you succeed, you learned something. If you never try, you never learn...

Another example, I'm failing at losing weight! Four months into being very conscious of what I eat, I've lost nothing. Todays weight: 153 lbs.

I know I eat out more often than I should, but lately I haven't been over my calories at all! Look here, go back a few days, someone tell me what I'm doing wrong!! 

My first 5K

Today was the big day! My first ever official 5K race around the Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit! (It's a Formula 1 thing).


I couldn't sleep last night, knowing we had to be up and out the door by 7:15 am. The drive there was nerve wracking, as I was nervous for some reason. It's just running, what's to be nervous about? It was pretty cold this morning, about 34 degrees fahrenheit, and all I had was my stupid sweatshirt to keep me warm. It's alright though, once we got  moving, I definitely warmed up.

The run itself wasn't terrible. It's definitely different than running on the treadmill at the gym. I wish I trained more outside, so I'd be ready for wind, sun, and a varying temperature, but I survived nonetheless. I got passed up pretty often, but I tried not to let it get me down. Because I wasn't completely ready for the outside conditions, I couldn't run the entire race. I think I stopped 4 or 5 times, but never for longer than 1/2 a song. I tried though, really I did.

At some point, a blind lady passed me with her guide.

I'm not sure of my super official time, but as I passed the thing it said 35-something. So I guess my time is somewhere between 34 and 36 minutes, which is pretty damn good in my opinion. That averages about 7 minutes per kilometer and about 11 1/2 minutes per mile. I can't complain :)

Julien said the first guy who passed the finish line was at about 15 minutes. I cant imagine, that's SO fast!

So it's done. I can't feel my legs. And for some odd reason I signed up for another one next Sunday, May 6th.

Today was probably the best food day I've had this week. 130 calories left over, hitting 1200 calories exactly, after exercising. AND I got to eat a bag of Doritos and a Toaster Strudel.  I'd say that's a win.

Many-an-errand had to get done today, what with getting a check to buy a car and picking up my official number for the race on Sunday. I was carrying around a Subway sandwich for a good 2 hours before eating it because I was running around so much. Sweet, sweet, Subway sandwich.

My sister in law, Jennie, signed me up for another 5K that is happening May 6th, just a week after my first 5K. She got me a discount, so I'm pretty excited! I'm making Julien wake up early 2 Sunday's in a row... but it's okay, I have to stay up late for him every Thursday, he owes me.

OH! I did day 2 of the 30 Day Shred today. It hurts to stand up, sit down, climb stairs, walk, raise my arms up or down, and move in general. For some reason my calves really kill, and I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have started before my race... hopefully my muscles will calm down a bit before Sunday...

Vs. Thursday

Beer vs. Wine

Both are truly disgusting (in my book). I think I've finished a total of 4 beers in my lifetime, only one of the being a pint, and all of them were in the company of mostly guy friends. I think I've finished less than 4 glasses of wine in my lifetime, so by that definition you'd think I'd say beer... but I'm going to go with Manischewitz wine. Why? Because it's the sweetest wine I've ever had, and I actually (kinda) liked it. And it's kosher, so I can enjoy it with Julien's family!

If you chose beer: You're sensible, no-nonsense, and open-minded.

If you chose wine: You're mature, well-educated, and discriminating. 

Legit, yo

I got a number, I'm like a prisoner. 

Prison Break.

30 Day Shred

For my birthday, one of my friends got me a $15 gift card to Chapters. Since I have a kindle, and can get books (totally legally...) over the internets for free, I had no idea what to get. Perhaps a funky book end or a fun, over-priced notebook... But then I happened upon the health and fitness section and found a Jillian Michael's DVD. She's pictured on the right. Smoking hot, right? Why wouldn't you want to look like THAT?!

The 30 Day Shred has been a huge topic of interested on the MyFitnessPal forums. Since I don't want to steal pics from these nice people, click here to browse through some pictures of before and after results. I hope that link works...

Anyway, I did day 1 today. The instructions are super clear, but there is a total of 3 20 minute workouts on the DVD, each progressively getting harder. I thought you'd do each workout for 30 days, but from what I'm reading, you do each for 10 days, for a total of 30 days. We'll see what happens. I don't have hand weights, so I'm using black bean cans...

Post-Birthday

You know what they say, calories don't count on your birthday. I tried to log my food anyway, link to my diary is in the side bar.

The day began with a trip to Van Houtte. There I got a Fruit and Yogurt Parfait and a hot chocolate. Sweet, sweet, hot chocolate.

Between breaky and lunch, one of my friends mom came over to my apartment. I hadn't seen her or her daughter in probably 4 or 5 years, so it was a nice reunion.

Lunch entailed a trip to Brit n' Chips. It's a lovely fish n' chips place in old port that features a hilarious looking fish in a bowler hat. The cool think about this place is you can get flavoured batter. Julien got a maple syrup flavoured one, I don't think mine was very special...

During dinner I got to see many of my McGill friends after not seeing them for a few weeks. We went to this pizza place called Il Focolaio. It was kind of like California Pizza Kitchen, but less trendy, more Italian. They didn't have fancy salads or fancy flavoured teas, but they did have 78 different individual sized pizza options, which was wonderful. During dinner I made my big announcement to my friends. I got all embarrassed and flustered, noticeably red in the face... but all was well. My surprise cake was the one pictured above. Now, that's not an actual picture of my cake, but it basically looked the same, with the same toy. You pull a string and it vibrates, it's pretty kick ass. Julien knows me so well, I love Spongebob. The inside had a layer of chocolate cake, vanilla icing, then vanilla cake. Nom nom, I had a piece for breakfast this morning ;D

All in all, my birthday was really special. Between eating I got to hang out with my dogs, watch Spongebob while mopping (shut up, I like mopping), and Skype with my best friend Sabrina. My parent's present came just on time, as did my Grandma's card. Aside being so far away from my US friends and family, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. I may not have many friends here, but I cherish the ones I do have.

Check it out! My 100th post is my birthday post! It's also a weigh-in day. But guess what? 

152 lbs! 

I didn't go to the gym yesterday because I was ridiculously sore from Sunday (for some reason), and I'm not going to go today because it's my birthday. And because I said so. But mostly because it's my birthday. 

Yesterday, I also needed comfort food, so I splurged at dinner. BBQ chicken pizza for one please. 

ALSO ALSO ALSO it's National New Kids on the Block day! CELEBRATIONS.

Meme Monday: Let's get personal

The last survey I had for my Meme Monday questions were too juvenile. I've decided to find a better set of questions.

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

Probably 19 or 20. I don't dress very maturely... I don't have any sort of steady job, I never really wear make-up. Most nearly 23 year olds I see are moving into the adult world, they're out of school, they're going into the real world, not some fantasy university land. I haven't hit that point yet, I hope to within a few years though.

For whoever reads this blog, feel free to answer these questions in the comments below. Don't be afraid of a little conversation :)

"Shake harder, boy!"

I'm starting to trail off. Not the diet, not about being healthy, about blogging.

I think I'm going to link to my My Fitness Pal diary directly, since it's public, and talk more about other things on this blog.

So here is what happened on Sunday. A pretty good day, only 80 grams over my sugar (lol). When I got back from the gym, Julien and his friend were just leaving to go to Tim Hortons... so I may have asked for a sandwich and an Iced Capp. Julien, though, likes to get me the largest size possible, so my coffee was 470 calories and 62 grams of sugar. Oops. But you know what, I still had 169 remaining calories at the end of the day, so not all is lost, amiright?

Here are some gym stats:

• Treadmill; 5.14 km; 41 minutes; 528 calories.
• Abs; 0 lbs; 25 reps, 4 times.
• Planks; 30 seconds, 2 times.
• Overall strength training; 16 minutes; 108 calories.
• Walking Chubbs; 22 minutes; 148 calories.

I'd like to point out, I tried to run the whole 5K without stopping to walk. I think I maybe walked a total of 2 or 2.5 songs (7-10 minutes). I noted my time when I hit 5K on the dot too. 39 minutes and 31 seconds. That's my best time yet! Last Friday I hat 5K at 42 1/2 minutes, so I shaved off 3 minutes in 2 days.

5 kilometers is about 3.11 miles. If you told High School Aimee that she would nearly be running 3.11 miles straight, without walking much, she would have laughed in your face and called you crazy. I'm really proud at my accomplishments, even if they're minor. 

I think because I ran for longer than I'm used to (I usually run and song, walk a song, until I hit 5K), my legs KILL. When I go to the gym today, my cardio will be on the bike, I need to take a day off of running before I sprain something.

In other news, my career path is taking a turn into crazy-land. Can't say much now, but wish me luck. 

I have really been slacking in my blogging lately. Between pre-birthday celebrations, eating way too much, having mental breakdowns, and breaking through that breakdown, I think it's acceptable to focus on my life first, before blogging.

Let's keep things simple...
Friday: 103 calories left in my day.
Saturday: Over by nearly 700 calories.

Why?
Friday: Ate at home, went to the gym.
Saturday: Pre-Birthday celebrations, ate out 4 times, did not go to the gym. Eating out includes: chicken and brie quesadilla panini's, cookie dough ice cream cones, mochacinnos and crepes, goat cheese, steak, and french fries. As you can imagine, I was hurting pretty bad. After nearly a week of behaving, eating lots of small portions throughout the day, eating two really big portions nearly killed me. Pardon my French, but I felt like le shit.

Stomach pains aside, I had a really great time with my brother and sister in law. They're always fun to be around and provide good, solid advise and laughter.

Thursday Fail

Seeing as last night I was alone in the apartment without internet, I couldn't update for Thursday. Fear not, Julien got the Internet to work this morning, so let's just pretend it's Thursday and get on with it!

Vs. Thursday~

Expectations vs. Reality

This one is hard. I'm going to say expectations. Because if that thing you expect comes true, then it's usually awesome! If not, you still have reality. For example, for Easter, my mom and grandma were expecting me to just show up in Illinois. The reality was, though, that I showed up through Skype for nearly the whole day. Win some, lose some. 

If you chose expectations: You're idealistic and entitled. 

If you chose reality: You're fatalistic and sexually charged.

(What did you choose?)

And here was my daily food intake. Not too shabby, then again, I only ate at home. Whenever I do that, I'm never over calories. I guess eating out is my downfall. 

I tried making this microwaveable, sugar free, chocolate cake thing I found on the MFP forums, but it was disgusting, so I threw it out and deleted the recipe. It was very spongy and moist... Not really my thing. 

The grocery store close to me was selling corn on the cob, so I bought one (.33 cents!) and had it last night. I didn't know it was corn on the cob season already. Isn't that more of a summer thing? You know, knee high by the fourth of July? Anyway...

Gym Stats

• Treadmill; 1.91 km; 17 minutes; 180 calories.
• Abs; 0 lbs; 25 reps, 5 times.
• Abs; 8 lbs; 25 reps, 3 times.
• Overall strength training; 12 minutes; 75 calories.
• Stationary Bike; 9.77 km; 33 minuts; 320 calories.
• Walking Chubbs; 22 minutes; 126 calories.

I decided to not run my usual 5K on the treadmill (for some reason) and instead do a different kind of cardio for the bulk of it. I tried the Weight Loss course on the bike while watching, "Nightmare Before Christmas" on my iPod. 

See? See what happens when I eat at home for all of my meals and snacks? I realize having a net calorie amount of under 1200 isn't the healthiest, but this doesn't happen very often. Thinking about it now, I probably should have added some nuts or other high calorie foods into my diet. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now!

Gym Stats

• Treadmill; 5.03 km; 44 minutes; 535 calories.
• Abs; 0 lbs; 25 reps, 5 times.
• Abs; 8 lbs; 25 reps, 3 times.
• Triceps; 40 lbs; 10 reps, 2 times.
• Biceps; 65 lbs; 10 reps, 3 times.
• Quads; 50 lbs; 10 reps, 4 times.
• Hamstrings; 40 lbs; 10 reps, 3 times.
• Overall strength training; 26 minutes; 181 calories.
• Walking Chubbs; 23 minutes; 153 calories.

I've gotten advise from lots of people and websites saying that lifting heavy, but with less reps is best. So I decided to up the weight on most of my strength training exercises by 5 lbs. I didn't up the hamstrings because I already can't do many reps to begin with. 

I've also decided, since it's getting nice outside, to walk Chubbs nightly. He's starting to get, well, chubby, and since he has such a flat face, he breathing can be even more hindered if he's not at a healthy weight. I don't mind walking him, it'll be a good bonding experience and maybe he'll stop being such a chicken out in public. Seriously, he avoids covered manholes. 

All day yesterday I felt like crap because I've been really focusing on being healthy for nearly 4 months now, and I basically have nothing to show for it. My starting weight was 155 lbs, and yesterday I peaked at 154 lbs. It just doesn't seem fair.

I've started to take measurements, though. I'll be recording them once a month to see if my body is actually transforming from a lumpy waterbed into a firm prison bed (I only assume prison beds are hard). 

I think it's time to get super serious. 

Weigh in

Todays weight: 154 lbs

I feel like, no matter what I do, my body doesn't feel like it needs to lose any weight. I know the numbers ultimately shouldn't matter, and that I should just feel good about myself regardless, but it's nice to see them going down, not up. I'd rather plateau. 

It's frustrating, I'm frustrated, let's go eat cake.

(kidding)

I changed something. From previous entries, you'll notice my calorie goal was at 1470. I stopped kidding myself though, and set my "Activity Level" from Lightly Active to Sedentary. Now that I'm not walking to campus daily, or up and down stairs to get to class, I decided to change it. Since last Thursday, I went through nearly the whole first season of "Prison Break," I'm definitely sedentary.

I was doing great with my calories until Julien ate a bag of Doritos. A Doritos bag is just a bag full of happiness, so he ate what he wanted, set it down, and noticed I got real grumpy. I told him he was killing me slowly, I tried to resist, but failed. Sweet, sweet, cool ranch failure.

Oh well, it didn't kill my day.

Gym Stats

(I forgot my HRM at home...)

• Treadmill; 5.07 km; 50 minutes; 600 calories.
• Abs; 0 lbs; 25 reps, 4 times.
• Triceps; 35 lbs; 10 reps, 4 times.
• Biceps; 60 lbs; 10 reps, 4 times.
• Overall strength training; 16 minutes; 108 calories.

Cheeburger Cheeburger

It's funny how such a good, healthy food day can go to crap so quickly.

By the time dinner came around, I had over 1,000 calories to spare. But then Jennie, my sister in law, and Jonathan, my brother in law, invited me out to go see Titanic. Can't say no to that. So, I was hungry, thinking I'd go home later for dinner-dinner, I bought some chicken tenders and an Iced Capp from Tim Hortons. Okay fine, 600+ calories left for dinner, not a problem.

Nope. J and J invited me out for dinner afterwards. We went to Cheeburger Cheeburger, which is this cool, '50s diner type place. In hindsight, I should have gotten a salad, loaded with veggies, chicken, and a water. But, come on, it's called Cheeburger Cheeburger, not Salad Salad. Come on. So, I got the smallest burger they offer (5.5 ounces), no fries, no onion rings, no poutine.

When the time came for dessert, though, I really screwed myself over. Small chocolate shake with cookie dough chunks and M&M's. Oops.

Gym Stats

(Gym time was shortened because my HRM was wigging out and I left a candle burning at my apartment. I'm paranoid, what can I say?)

• Treadmill; 20 minutes, 270 calories.

Cabane à Sucre, or how I ate 1,000+ calories in one sitting

Yesterday, Julien and I went to Cabane à Sucre (or Sugar Shack) with a bunch of his coworkers. I went into this experience blind, so I expected pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage links, ham, and loads of maple syrup, all in a buffet, all you can eat, style. What I got was eggs, ham, hotdogs, baked beans, beets, roasted potatoes, fried pig skin (not bacon), and dinner rolls, swimming in maple syrup. Not in a buffet style, but rather the waitress kept bringing us more food if we asked for it.

You paid $20 before eating, meaning you pay $20 before you know what you're going to eat. My kind of breakfast consists of blueberry pancakes, strawberry waffles, english muffins, and bagels. I feel like I paid $20 to eat mini hotdogs swimming in maple syrup...


Everyone else was stuffed, after eating 2 or 3 helpings of everything. I, on the other hand, was still kinda hungry. Unfortunate. Isn't it a golden rule to never leave an all-you-can-eat buffet hungry? Anyway, after the meal we were treated to maple taffy on snow. Which is basically poured maple syrup on ice shavings. You then take a popsicle stick and roll it yourself and eat it like a sucker. The process is pictured above, and the result (as is an extremely attractive picture of me) is pictured to the left.

I roughly kept track of what I shoved into my face. All 1,156 calories. Here is a bulleted list:

• Hotdogs: about 2.
• Baked Beans: about 1/4 cup.
• Ham: about 1/2 thick slice.
• White dinner roll: 1 1/2 rolls.
• Whipped butter: 3 tablespoons.
• Scrambled egg: about 1/2 egg.
• Maple syrup: about 5 1/2 tablespoons.
• Black coffee: 1/2 cup.
• Roasted potatoes: about 1 cup.
• Small, 3 inch pancake: 1 pancake.
• Sugar pie: about 1/9 of the pie

I kicked ass today. For it being Friday the 13th, today was pretty good to me.

And look at all of those black numbers! Only one red, but I've decided to largely ignore my sugars. Funny thing is, the coke I had today had 42 g of sugar. So if I hadn't drunk that, I'd have all black numbers.

Tonight was also another Passover celebration-thing. I added 650 calories for dinner, because I never really know what I eat when I'm over with the Jews.

Gym Stats

• Treadmill; 2.99 km; 25 minutes; 322 calories.
• Abs; 0 lbs; 25 reps, 5 times.
• Quads; 45 lbs; 10 reps, 5 times.
• Hamstrings; 40 lbs; 10 reps, 3 times
• Overall strength training; 23 minutes; 156 calories.

FGFOF: gym edition

Feel-Good: I felt confidant yesterday (and especially today) working out at the gym in my little shorts. I even noticed some definition in my thighs! I tried taking a subtle mirror picture with my iPod, I'm not sure if you can see anything, but it's definitely there in real life! Ignore my grumpy-face, I was in the middle of doing abs. 

Freak-Out: Thigh burn. I now understand why runners want that "thigh gap." It hurts A LOT when you're running and those babies are rubbing together. Note to self: don't wear shorts during the actual 5K.

Speaking of, I'd like to thank the 3 people who have sponsored me thus far! My dad, Alia, and Jennie. You guys rock! I'm so glad I have support for my friends and family. Donations aside, I really am thankful for everyone in my life :)

To end this Feel-Good, Freak-Out Friday, I'd like to share with you a tweet from Miss Kelley Osbourne. 

Today was really, really exciting. A number of eventful things happened, so let's just start a bulleted list:

• I handed in my final 2 papers of the year. Summer vacation time!
• I had lunch with some Library School buddies, and celebrated summer with panini's, chinese food, and breakfast.
• I finally picked up my Easter basked at the post office that my mom and dad sent me. Including: two Lindt gold bunnies, Eiffel tower novelty tissues, toe separators, a 1 foot tall yellow chicken, fun Easter ornament-things, a tape measure, and a chocolate scented bunny, which I gave to Chubbs.
• I watched 3 or 4 episodes of Prison Break.
• Holy crap, I went to the gym! First time in nearly 2 weeks! 
• I went on a happy-end-of-semester shopping trip to Old Navy. I bought an Ironman shirt (on which I performed surgery), a hippie shirt, jogging pants, jogging shorts, 6 pairs of socks, and gladiator-type flip flops. 
• Julien and I might landed an apartment near his parents house. Since tomorrow is (still) Passover, and we'll be heading out that way, we'll be signing the lease. And depending on when someone can move into our current apartment, we might be moving out May 1st... Our landlord wants to take a month to do some renovations, so if he finds new tenants for June 1st, we need to be out by May 1st, and so on. Depending on what actually happens, the rest of the month might be stressful.

Anyway, because I went to the gym left the house today, I managed to rack up exercise calories, so I finally wasn't over my intake, or 10 calories from my limit. I feel so good after leaving the gym, I can't understand how people can just sit around all day without doing any physical movement besides clicking a computer mouse. I get a certain high from feeling my muscles ache, it might be an obsession. Oops. 

Only 16 more days until my 5K race. I can't believe it... I'm raising money for the MS society of Canada. If you'd like to donate, please do here. 

Gym Stats

• Treadmill; 2.64 km; 23 minutes; 276 calories.
• Abs; 0 lbs; 25 reps, 5 times.
• Biceps; 60 lbs; 10 reps, 4 times.
• Triceps; 35 lbs; 10 reps, 3 times.
• Overall strength training; 17 minutes; 112 calories. 

Vs. Thursday

Chess vs. Checkers

This is easy, obviously the superior is checkers. I was never a fan of chess for many reasons:

• It takes too long to learn.
• People take it too seriously.
• It's too slow of a game.
• You need an IQ of 500 in order to actually enjoy it.

Give me a nice game of checkers, while drinking lemonade on a porch. That's where it's at.

If you chose chess: You're introverted, thoughtful, and possibly a twin.

If you chose checkers: You're sociable, childlike, and possibly a dandy.

Before & After

Just a few links. KatSketch on YouTube posted a video with these links in the description. The beginning is ghetto, but she does have a good message towards the end. I look up to her, not only as an artist, but as a woman. Anyway, I think it's good for my generation and younger to see these images. It really puts things in perspective.

Before and After Photoshop
With and Without Make-up

All was well today... until Julien and I went to his parents house for dinner. I swear, I never know how to log dinner there. But his mom served up whole artichokes, so that was amazing. It was the first time I dissected an artichoke, ripping off the leaves, slowly undressing it, until you RIP ITS HAIR OUT and nom on its heart. (Sexual zombie much?)

We were out by his parents in the first place because we're looking for a new apartment. I think we found one too! It's close to his parents, so we'll get free food, which will be nice. The living room in the new place is basically the size of our current place, and there are so many cupboards in the kitchen and there are two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a garage, AC, and a weird concrete patio/yard thing. Maybe then we can finally outside train the puppies. Anyway, I really like it. The one thing that sucks is we'll be paying a bit more for it monthly and I'll have to take the metro downtown daily (it's about a 45 minute commute). But it'll be worth it, I think.

Weigh In

Today's weight: 151 lbs

Another ride on the fail-boat! toot toot!


As you can see, I didn't exercise, I didn't even go outside today! I had people over, I ate brownies, Julien and I ordered out, I finished half of his coke, it was just bad news bears.

BUT. School is done-done in about 2.5 days, meaning in 2.5 days I'll actually have time to go to the gym and put in a gut-wrenching workout. No more relying on these dinky Wii-Fit workouts.

Meme Monday: Least Favorite Edition

Least favourite food: Olives, mushrooms, any kind of shellfish, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, tongue.

Least favourite chore to do: This is easy, washing windows. My dad made me do it all the time as a kid, so my hate stemmed from that. Also, doing dishes manually. The dishwasher is my best friend. 

Least interesting outing: What kind of question is this? Well, I guess going to a mechanic or getting gas isn't very interesting. 

Least favourite hairstyle: On me? Anything short. It looks cute when first coming back from the hair dresser, but every day after that for the rest of your life, it looks terrible. 

Least favourite subject at school: Science. Unless it's library science MUHAHAH.

Least favourite season: Winter, duh. 

Mission Easter: Success

I don't know why I'm blogging now. It's not like I have to do school work before tomorrow morning.....

Today was pretty successful. I guess that's a good thing about being away from home for Easter, I don't stuff my face with sweets and pasta.

Desserts included:

• 3 layers lasagna cake.
• Cheesecake layers with bananas, pineapple, strawberries, cool whip.
• Cake Easter eggs.
• Lamb cake.
• Chocolate Cinnamon Bars.
• Lemon Bars.
• Kazadad's.
• And of course candy, jelly beans, puppy chow, various cookies, etc etc. 

Anyway, I spent a lot of the day on Skype, and I even helped my cousin Mary find the winning $100 Easter egg :)