Monday, November 30, 2009

New weekly goals

Ahh Monday! I'm sooo sleepy! I'm at work right now but just can't turn the brain to on, so I'm giving it a warm up by blogging first, shhh! (good thing I have high walls to my cubical ha!)
I had a good and sucky weekend, so I will share the good! ;)

My sister is selling cookies in our city as her side hobby and donates 10% of her sales to charity. Her Christmas sales are going towards buying gifts for the people at the Centre for Addiction and Metal health. So this weekend I helped my sister put together lots of Christmas tins to sell!

Look above, it's a avocado salad wrap I made for lunch today ;) I'm glad to say that I'm 1lbs away from being back to my weight from a couple weeks ago ;).

Since I am extremely tired this morning and feel lazy, I also feel lazy to care about what I will eat this week, weird I know. So I'm keeping it simple this week.

1. NO FAST FOOD! (I had a big mac on Saturday not good for my diet I know,something about a big mac that always makes me feel good LOL)
2. Limit Coffee intake by half
3. Salads or Wraps for Lunch
4.Healthy home cooking 5 days a week or more!. :)
5. 2 days a week Jogging

Thursday, November 26, 2009

New diet not so good for my belly ;(


Went to Starbucks today for a yummy latte and they had these cute polar bear cookies, so cute. I was good and did not buy one, I was tempted...but took a picture of it instead so I can obsess over it now ha!

Tomorrow completes 4 weeks at my new job, and 4 weeks of new food in my diet. Last weeks measurements showed that my belly grew a bit, and this whole week I have been having a upset tummy and very bloated (TMI sorry lol)

Ugh a little annoyed with food these days, as soon as I think I got it right, I realize I don't!

So although I have cut 500 calories or more some days from my daily intake, the new diet is not so good for my belly.

BUT since I have so many new things I added to my diet (whole wheat English muffins/rye bread/ham & Turkey coldcuts/lite provolone cheese/Tim Hortons coffee every morn) I can't figure out what it could be that is causing this. So with some research I did online I have come up with a new plan for next week.

Next week I will cut my coffee intake by half (or more if I'm brave)
Switch to white English muffins instead of whole wheat (even tho the calories are a bit more)
Switching from sandwiches for lunch to Salads or wraps for lunch ;)

Add more fruit and veggies as snacks for my day.

Now lets hope this works!!

Yippy for Friday!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

New Low Cal snacks

I know it's only Tuesday, but I have been doing really well with counting calories. I also found some new low cal snacks that I love! Above is a rice crispy square with 80 cals made with omega 3 polyunsaturated fat.
And these Fruit stiks are yummy like gummy bears only 35 cals a stik ;)


We are having beautiful fall weather which is great for our evening jogs! Today we saw SANTA ahah, he was at the park greeting kids. I didn't get a pic of Santa, it was pretty crowded and the iphone doesn't take great distance pics ha!

Having a good week so far!

Hope you are all having a great week!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

New week with healthy choices

This weekend was the first weekend in a long long time that we did not go out to eat! I made all meals at home and 1 night we went to a friends house for her delicious home cooked meal.

My sister is making holiday cookies and selling them and giving 10% of sales to charity. She brought some of them for us to try on the weekend. MM they were so yummy. She's making Italian Amaretti cookies. Look how cute they are. ;) I I just had 2 but oh could of had many more!


I got some suggestions for BF and Lunch ideas but still can't really see my BF without a carb. So for now I'm going to continue with a English muffin and Jam 150 cals and a medium coffee 75 cals.

This weeks goals.

1. NO FAST FOOD!!!
2. Limit Coffee and added sugars and creams in them!
3.Healthy home cooking 5 days a week or more!. :)
4. Limit sweets
5. 2 days a week Jogging
6. 2 days 10000 steps on pedometer
7. Count Calories

Crossing my fingers for some weight loss! :)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

November Body measurements



Upper Arms: 11 1/2"
Waist above Belly Button: 31" (2 1/2' more than last month! oh grr!)
Waist below Belly Button: 36" (1 1/2' more than last month! oh grr again!)
Hips: 44"
Upper Thighs: 25

(hmm only the belly gained ahah NO, no babies here yet bloggy friends ;)

September 29 measurements

Upper Arms: 11 1/2"
Waist above Belly Button: 28 1/2
Waist below Belly Button: 34 1/2
Hips: 44"
Upper Thighs: 25


I'm not going to complain too much about the inches I've gained. I know what went wrong the last couple weeks and I'm already started fixing it!

Now that I have a new routine, I need to come up with a better eating plan. I'm learning slowly and really watching these calories! Some things I will be searching up the net today is low calorie BF and Lunch ideas for work.

Any of your suggestions are welcomed! :)

Friday, November 20, 2009

Show us your life - Pets!




Today on Kelly's Korner it's Show us your life - PETS! Anyone that follows my blog knows I just love my furbaby Zoe.




After I got married in 2007 we decided to get a pet for our home. I did a lot of research and decided that a ragdoll kitty would be a good fit for us. I love cuddling and I read the Ragdolls love to be held. Zoe loves being cuddled!


The day we got her she was already a talkative little one! (I'm at work with limited pics shh but when I get home I have a video of Zoe when she was 6 months so cute)

Right away she new I was her MOM! ;) Zoe follows me everywhere! If she isn't beside me I know that something is wrong, or that she must have escaped. (She always bolts for an open door ;(


When I say she follows me... yes she follows me around, but she also wants to do what I'm doing. She's a total COPY CAT! LOL She sits on the computer because I use it, she trys to get into the dryer, the dish washer, the shower, my bed you name it, and when she sees me go outside and see's which way I walk, the days she escapes she runs that way! She also thinks she owns the dining room and basement. Walk into those rooms and she will go crazy jumping off the walls letting you know the space is hers! ahah! I know she's like that with the basement because her food is there, but the dining room I can't figure that one out.




When they say pets take on their owners personality, I really think they do. Zoe has a little me and husband in her personality. Fun, loving, behaving and bratty at the same time. A girly girl yet macho when needed, relaxed and hyper. Messy when she eats yet will not use a dirty litter, no way! Husband and I are opposites and Zoe has a little of both in her ahhah! She's my little furbaby and is always there when I need a fur shoulder to cry on ;)






TGIF but feeling blue


Today's post is more on the mushy side, the mopey downer type post. Maybe my fellow readers can help me see things differently... Lately I have been having a feeling of overwhelming boredom. It's been creeping up slowly I'd say since the summer... I can't really understand it, I'm a busy gal... Now I work 9-5 come home and work on my online business and blogging which I love to do. Have many family and friends events I attend and I have fun (but i know my fun is sooo different than the fun I use to have... Is it age? getting older?) I don't know but the only word I can think of to describe my feelings is that I'm BORED! Ask me what I would rather be doing?... I don't know!? Even when I think of travelling, it's not that interesting to me and this is weird! Because I can put myself back in the 2007-2008 state of mind when husband and I traveled to Dominican, Cuba, San Diego, Bahamas within 1 year, even considered a move to San Diego! So I ask myself what has changed? I know many things have changed within the year, lost my job, moved, found my love for blogging;), found a new job, got another year older 2 more years to 30... I have many great people and things in my life and my days are always busy... So why do I feel soooo bored!? What am I missing?

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Foggy Day!


What a foggy rainy day today was. Husband was home today so he took this pic from our office window this afternoon. Oh I miss the days when I was home! (Grateful I have a Job) But still miss my days at home with Zoeee! Especially on days like today, dark and gloomy a perfect indoor day wearing joggers. However I was at work, feeling like a joggers day but in dress pants ahah.
Tomorrow is Friday and I wonder if you are as happy as I am. I don't have much planned for the weekend but I look forward to my weekends so much more these days!

Saturday is weigh in day, fingers crossed on some weight loss! I've been watching those Cals all week!!!!

One smart move I do is to never buy sweets for the house, this works well for me, because if it's in sight I will eat it! I'm saying this as I sit here typing away wishing I had a cookie ahah!

Have a Happy Friday ;)

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Jogging into lights!


Tonight we went for our jog and decided to take a longer route. We couldn't take our usual route through the trail because it gets dark too quick (altho, we did try ahha and it was tooo dangerous with all the branches sticking out and not being able to see!) We took a different route but still ended up and the end of our trail. This is what we ran into... Christmas lights everywhere!!!! It was so beautiful!


I really enjoy our outdoor jogs!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Hidden Calories Continued

Although my new pedometer is bulky and not comfy to wear at all, it does track calories burned too. I really like that feature and will use this one while I continue on the look out for a smaller one. ;)

Today I found out something that totally shocked me!... Yesterday I wrote about hidden Calories and how I dropped my BF sandwich from 270 cals to 195 cals. I also noticed that coffee could be a culprit of hidden cals... WELLLLLL I just found out that a large double double coffee is 230 cals! Can you believe that! The last 2 weeks I increased my Cal intake by eating 500 cals for BF!!!! So this week I started drinking a large regular which is 115 cals, now BF is a total of 310 cals instead of that dreadful 500! (I'm thinking I can definitely do with a medium coffee which is 75 cals so bringing it down to 270)

I'm already down 1 lbs and hopefully I will soon be back to where I was in weight and work on losing from there!

Learning lesson: Never underestimate the Cals! They are EVERYWHERE! ahahha!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Hidden Calories


Over the weekend I made sure to really focus on hidden Calories.

I bought a different type of English muffins 30 cals less than the ones I was eating. I also made sure to use only half a tbsp of peanut butter for my BF to cut added calories there. I brought down my BF sandwich from 270 cals to 195 Cals :) whoohoo.

Also I am making sure to only use a tiny bit of mustard for my lunch sandwiches and i will also be starting to bring in soups for lunch too.

Over the weekend husband figured out another item that has hidden cals.... My coffee! When I was home I hardly drank coffee out, I usually made my own or usually had tea. The past 2 weeks of working I have been having a double double coffee every morning! That's 2 sugars and 2 creams every day! I couldn't believe I never realized that. So today I got myself a Regular coffee no more double double. I also will only get a coffee when I feel tired, if not I will choose tea instead with no added sugar or cream!


It's a new week and I'm ready to lose weight!!
This weeks goals ;)
1. NO FAST FOOD!!!
2. Limit Coffee and added sugars and creams in them!
3.Healthy home cooking 5 days a week. :)
4. Limit sweets
5. 2 days a week Jogging
6. 2 days 10000 steps on pedometer

Sunday, November 15, 2009

More holiday decorating

More decorating! Today we spent all day finishing up the Christmas decorations.
We put up all the lights outside as well ;) All that is left is getting our indoor Christmas tree!
We have not decided on when to get the tree yet, since we are going for a real one I don't want to get it too early.

Tonight I am pooped! I'm watching Brothers and Sisters ( my favorite show) then I'm off to bed!

Hope you all had a great weekend ;)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Up 3lbs!

I knew it! I was feeling the snugness in my jeans this week ;( I'm so upset! for the longest time of maintaining , I go and gain 3 lbs! How did this happen! My jogging routines are still in tact, my eating is not thaaat different than it was before.

Some changes: I am eating Rye bread sandwiches everyday for lunch (i thought Rye is ok) and I have been eating a peanut butter and jam English muffin for BF. I just added up the Cals in my BF and it comes out to 270 (160 EM, 20 jam, 90 peanut butter) hmm. I know these are added cals to my day, since when I was home I skipped BF many times. This week I need to really look at my daily meals specifically BF and lunch. Boo to weight gain, I hope I drop these quick!

Good news, I bought my new pedometer today, whoohoo! ;)


AND cutting carbs at dinner is a must now! Veggie Omelet with Veggies on the side! YUM! With Jasmine Green Tea.

Tomorrow we are going to put up the Christmas lights. We still have not bought a tree but we are thinking of going with a real tree this year so we will look into that in the endrt of November.

****Prayers... Praying for my best friend and her family, she lost her step-dad this week :(. Also praying for another good friend of mine's family, her sister lost her unborn baby twins and she is going through a really tough time, my heart aches for her so much :(

Hope everyone is having a safe and fun weekend.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Cool new work bag ;)

As I mentioned before I'm going through a yucky learning curve at work. Since I usually get overwhelmed and tend to freak out husband is here to help me out. So whatever I do not understand I bring home and he helps me (I feel like I'm back in school!) Well for the past 2 weeks I've been lugging around a brief case to bring my notes back and forth. It was a hand held one, and I would struggle holding that and a coffee and trying to go through revolving doors without touching it with my hands because of GERMS! hahah! So I went out and bought a shoulder bag! It's light and comfy! Not too big, but a perfect size to carry my notes in, and my lunch!


Saturday I will be doing my weigh in. Although I have been eating healthier and snacking healthier, my jeans are feeling a little snug... hmm I'm a little worried!! lets hope I did not gain any weight!!! GRRR ! Today I have a bag of almonds to snack throughout my day :)

Happy Friday!! :)

Remembrance Day



Yesterday was Remembrance day, and a beautiful day it was to honour those who died while serving their countries.

Husband and I both had the day off work. So we took a drive to Niagara falls to enjoy a beautiful afternoon ;)

We saw the most beautiful Rainbow!

We spent the whole afternoon walking around, talking and just enjoying peacefulness!

And of course what is going to Niagara falls without stopping at the Hershey Factory!!

Sorry for posting the deliciousness!! I was good and did not buy any chocolates!

.... I only bought some chocolate covered strawberries ;) ha!


We went to Starbucks before our long drive home and enjoyed a gingerbread Latte with our strawberries. Yum! ;) A much needed relaxation day for the both of us ;)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Beautiful Fall Weather

The weather has been amazing the last couple days. Gorgeous fall weather amazing for this time of year. Today I was feeling yucky at work. I'm going through a big learning curve and just feeling moosh. When we got home from work today we went for our jog, we went a little further than usual. It felt great and I'm feeling better already, ahh. Nothing like a jog in fresh air to clear the mind ;)

FRUIT! When I did my groceries on Sunday I bought lots of fruit, grapefruit, grapes, and strawberries. Trying to eat as nutritional as possible. I'm hoping to stay flu free!

Tomorrow husband and I both have the day off for remembrance day. I am so happy that I have a break in the middle of the week ahhhhh !

Look at Zoe thinking my back is turned and right away jumping on the counter. She noticed my pedometer on the counter and decided to knock it down and use it a s a toy and it broke! Maybe she doesn't want me to use it anymore HA! But that is ok, because I want to buy the one that tracks calories burned too, so now I have an excuse to go buy it! ;0

Off to read all my fav blogs ;)

Monday, November 09, 2009

Wore my pedometer to work.

Lots to say today ;) Since I started working (since last week ha!) I made myself a peanut butter and jam English muffin every morning for breakfast. I know my body and I know I need a sweet in the morning. Doing this saves me from a donut or muffin run mid morning, so far so good and I have been doing sooo well! Love it when I read myself and find a solution!

I was suppose to wear my pedometer last week to work but I kept on forgetting. So today I finally wore my pedometer to work and I only did 5000 steps! and that's with my frequent bathroom runs since I'm drinking water like I'm afraid of a shortage. hmm not a good thing. I need to think of creative ways to add more steps in my day.

This weeks goals are the same as last week.

My goals for the week are the following:
1. NO FAST FOOD!!!
2. Healthy home cooking all week. :)
3. Limit sweets
4. 2 days a week Jogging

Tonight is a relax night with my hot chocolate and cuddling with husband and Zoe ;)

Before I go, I want to pray so much for my friends sister. She miscarried today and lost her twin babies :( I'm soo sad for her loss and send all my thoughts and prayers for her family ;(

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Christmas Decorating


Yesterday when we did our fall cleaning I found some holiday decorations. However when we moved I think I must have thrown away many of our things or maybe they are hidden away somewhere, because we do not have much! I only hand a few items.

Husband and I usually put up our tree in the beginning of November but last year we gave away our tree and we still have not gone out to buy a new one. (I like the fake pre-lit ones) I've been looking at all the flyer's that come in but have not seen any good deals as of yet. We also need to get lights for decorating the outside of the home. Some of our neighbors put up their lights yesterday; I think we will be delayed in that too! Ha!

46 Days till Christmas! ;)

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Fall cleaning! Raking Leaves.

Over the week we noticed that everyone on our street had no leaves on their grass, yet our lawn was full of leaves, when did everyone rake their leaves? Where were we? ahah!...Today was a gorgeous warm fall day so we decided to make today our Fall cleaning day. We raked all the leaves, 5 bags FULL! What a work out that was! I never understand why we need to rake these leaves, but husband told me that the grass would not be able to breathe covered in leaves, and in spring we would be left with a mess after all the snow falls. (ok better to clean em all up haha!) Since we moved in our new house in June we used our garage as a storage room so we decided to tackle that too! We cleaned for 5 hours today whew! It's such a good feeling to have everything cleaned and organized ;)

While we were out cleaning I put a whole chicken in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours. It was perfect! Once we wrapped up and showered we sat down to a nice chicken dinner with a large spinach salad!

Hope you all are having a great Fall weekend!

Thursday, November 05, 2009

I cracked! And ate out today!

I cracked! I was doing so well with cooking at home for dinner all week and I also brought my own lunch from home everyday this week ;) but tonight we gave in and we went to have Thai!!

We came home from work, changed and went for our jog. During our jog we could smell all the yummy food people were cooking and we were getting so hungry! I think we are going to change our jog time since jogging around dinner time is sabotaging us!

For dinner I had Shrimp PadThai with a spring roll. It was yummy and I'm glad we went ;) HA! of course I am, I love FOOD! Food is my issue here! ;(
I really really need to kick it up by A LOT! From reading many of my blogger friends blogs I am getting new tips and ideas that I need to incorporate. For now I need to get my Cals in check and add some more intense exercising! (Main area I was to shrink down are my thighs! these babies are causing a big problem with fitting into dress pants!) ahha!

Sooo happy tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Benefits of Coconut Oil

Back in September when I was in Dominican Rep I bought some organic goodies.

One of which was coconut oil. I tried cooking with it but didn't like the taste too much. So I have been using it every other day as face and body moisturizer and in my hair. Major notice I have seen is in my hair. I always had a dry scalp and now it is gone! I rub coconut oil in my hair then wash it out, it worked after 3 times of doing this. I still continue doing it every other day. Also, I have noticed a reduction in cellulite! AND! I think it is making my face look younger ahah! Since I started work I got many people asking me if I am a co-op student or thinking I am 22, no more than 25 years old. whooho to that! However it actually makes me feel old, altho 28, thinking back of when I was 22 feels sooo long ago! ahah!

I only have half a bottle left! and plan on buying more from the health food store very soon!

Happy Hump day everyone!!

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Weekly Goals

Before I talk about my weekly goals, I wanted to mention that Zoe is fully over her little flu she had Sunday. She is back to herself again!

Today was my first full day at work and boy did it feel LONG! Everyone was very friendly and my day went pretty smooth. However I was pretty tense and I actually couldn't eat all day because my tummy was in knots, but no worries I came home and ate a yummy dinner :)

Zoe was sooo happpy to see me when I came home today. Nothing like the loving welcoming when entering the door after a long day! :)

I know its only Tuesday but my goals are going pretty well. I made yummy dinners yesterday and today and everyday for dinner this week!

(Beef stir fry with onions and mushrooms with a tortilla and spinach salad)

Oven baked pork chops with sweet potato fries , egg roll and spinach salad (I needed my carbs today ;)

My goals for the week are the following:
1. NO FAST FOOD!!!
2. Healthy home cooking all week. :)
3. Limit sweets
4. 2 days a week Jogging
5. Wear pedometer to work daily to track new daily steps.

Keeping goals simple this week ;)

I'm sooo tired this evening so hitting bed early!

Monday, November 02, 2009

Lovely Blog Award!

Today I received another AWARD actually 2 in 1! The "One Lovely Blog Award" from Tori over at 3 girls and a guy

Thank you so much! We recently found each others blogs and I truly enjoy reading her daily writing!

The rules of the "One Lovely Blog Award" are:

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

She also awarded me with the new Friends award.



Frugal Mom knows best
awarded Tori with these awards so I copied her words below because she says it best! "This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose six more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award. Since this blog is has the same rules as the previous, I am using the same fifteen! "

15 was hard to choose because I enjoy all the blogs I read ;) so if you come across my blog today I grant you these awards automatically! So feel free to accept these awards!! :)

Emily @ one more thing http://realfastonemorething.blogspot.com/

Randall @ Happy for this moment http://happyforthismoment.blogspot.com/

Abby @The musings of a snail http://musingsofasnail.blogspot.com/

Amanda @ http://journeytobecomeabetterme.blogspot.com/

Jes @ http://farfallafiori3.blogspot.com/

danielle @ blissful http://danielleandmikeblissful.blogspot.com/

Lindsey @ http://lindseynicks.blogspot.com/

Amo @ http://whereawomanshakeshertablecloth.blogspot.com/

Modern Mom @ http://howtosurvivelifeinthesuburbs.blogspot.com/

Baker Girl @ http://anextendedvacation.blogspot.com/

My little Becky @ http://www.mylittlebecky.com/

Annie @ http://annieandbillychaptersofourlife.blogspot.com/

Maryellen @ http://maryellen-maresmind.blogspot.com/

Kacy @ http://kacycovington.blogspot.com/

Lily Sue @ http://apeaceofbliss.blogspot.com/

PS. Zoe is feeling better tonight whew!