Holding Steady at 18 and the Potato Salad Wars

…. if I write about it, it usually changes the next day.

After the race yesterday my friend L thought I would drop 3 more pounds, based on the effort I put out during the run. Today my thighs were actually a little bit sore. I notice it mostly when I walk down stairs.

Unfortunately a drop in weight did not happen and certainly not 3 pounds worth. The one side effect of the race is that I am extremely tired and find myself drifting off in the middle of doing something (like checking my email and scanning things on the computer). It looks like it’s going to be another early night.

Yesterday I had a few challenges with eating because of Father’s Day. I’m happy to report that I passed on the KFC, the wine, the apple pie, the bread and the tarts. I did have a small sample of my homemade potato salad. My baby sister and I are having a bit of a disagreement as to whose potato salad is closest to our mom’s original recipe. I’m sharing my version with you.

German Potato Salad With Bacon

5 lb of new white potatoes, skins on

1/2 lb sliced and diced bacon

2 ribs of celery

small bunch of green onions

3 large radishes

3 small dill pickles

pickle juice

mayonnaise

salt and pepper

1. Boil the potatoes with the skin on. If they’re not new potatoes you may want to peel them after cooking.

2. When a knife pierces the potato easily, remove from the heat and drain. Allow to cool for a few minutes.

3. In a frying pan cook the diced bacon until the bacon is crisp. Let it drain on a paper towel. Save the fat.

4. Finely dice the celery, radishes, green onion and pickles.

5. Slice or cube the cooked potatoes and add to a large bow. Add the diced vegetables and bacon.

6. In separate small bowl mix together about 1/4 cup of pickle juice, 1/4 of bacon grease and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like your dressing tart add more pickle juice or reduce the amount of bacon grease. To be honest I never measure the ingredients for the dressing. I go by how it looks and tastes.

7. Add the dressing to the potato mixture and gently toss. Start with half the dressing and if you like it more moist add more as needed.

Best Served Warm

Serves 10 to 12 people

My version of Mom’s German Potato Salad

My Sister’s Version

Potatoes

Bacon

Mayonnaise

Pickle juice

Salt and Pepper

The steps are identical to my recipe but she omits the pickles, celery, radishes, onions and uses way less mayonnaise.

You be the judge!

P.S. This is definitely not a recipe for people trying to lose weight!

I Did It!

…. couldn’t believe how emotional the experience was.

I actually walked/ran 5 km today. We started at the back of the pack and finished probably in the bottom third. I didn’t come in last and I ran at the start line and I crossed the finish line running.

What surprised me today was how much running I did in between. I can’t say for sure but I think I ran at least 1/3 the distance. At the finish line I could feel myself become very emotional and when I met up with my family I cried like a baby. It was partially exhaustion but also the realization that anything is possible regardless of age, weight or fitness level.

I started off disliking running and now want to continue. I’m already investigating future races later in the summer. I am more motivated than ever to lose more weight.

My brother-in-law took over 600 pictures of the runners coming across the finish line. The ones of L and I are hilarious and somewhat frightening at the same time. The look of determination and exhaustion would make anyone wonder if running at our ages was a good idea and those pictures of me crying….. oh boy! I doubt that I will ever post those pictures unless I decide to use them as my ‘before’ pictures.

I do have to admit that for the rest of the day I felt somewhat disoriented and not myself. I need a good night’s sleep and some time to reflect on the whole experience. I’ve included some photos from before the race and a group family photo with the ‘three sisters’. This last picture was taken about 5 hours after the run.

Cheers!

Coach C and Coach L at the beginning of the race. Coach C came in long before us.

Coach L and me. Looking refreshed and ready to go.

On Father’s Day with the ‘three sisters’, Dad, partner G, hubby K and nephew P.

Race Day!

…. the day has finally arrived.

I’ve been up since 5:30 and I can’t believe how nervous I am. I know I can walk the 5 km and I don’t have any illusions about running the total distance. I do, however, want to start running and end running.

It looks like it’s going to be a nice day but the weatherman has forecast rain later in the day. After the race it’s off to my dad’s place to celebrate Father’s Day and then back to Toronto to have a Father’s Day celebration for K with our children. My baby sister, CS and her husband leave for Calgary tonight.

Somewhere in between all of this I have to find some time to put the finishing touches on my report cards.

Wish me luck (for the run). Send me some positive thoughts over the airways.

Cheers

Yesterday’s Post Went Up Today

….. all references to ‘today’ happened on Friday

I was up 1 pound this morning but I knew that might happen. I find that with Asian food I tend to retain water.

I did get out for a really good long walk/run this morning with my baby sister, K and the dog.When we got to the rugby pitch I ran about 3/4 of it and then I ran along the road to the point, along a side path off the main road and then from 11th St to 8th St., walked one block and then finished the last stretch by running. Feels good.

According to gmap-pedometer.com I ran about 1.3 km. I think that’s the most I’ve run to date. I actually feel like I could run further. I actually want to run further.

Watching us on our walk this morning.

Just a Quick Update

.….down another 1/2 pound for a total of 18 poundsItalic (Ctrl + I)

It’s been a hectic day. When I woke up this morning I heard the answering machine downstairs leaving a very long message. My aunt was admitted to the hospital with congestive heart failure. I’ve been trying to connect with her over the last 2 two weeks because my baby sister is coming to T.O. today and she wanted to visit our aunt H.

After breakfast I drove to the hospital, not really knowing what to expect . Aunt H is 86 this week and I haven’t seen her in 1 1/2 years. I’m happy to say that she looked good and she was in good spirits. We had a great visit and I promised to come and see her again with my sister.

It turned out that both my sisters came to the house today. We all went out for dinner and for the first time in a long time I felt uncomfortable after dinner. I’m hoping it was the 2 pots of tea that I ingested and not the food I ate.

I’m planning on doing an extra long walk tomorrow with my baby sister. If I did any damage tonight that should help.

Middle sister, CJ and baby sister, CS

Hubby, K and me.

Another Thing to Check Off the List

….. 10 days and counting

I just got in from our annual school musical production. It was suppose to happen every two years but somehow it’s back to every year. The students of course did a great job, the parents loved it and the teachers are happy to check off another thing off their ‘to do’  lists.

As a staff we decided to go out for dinner before the show started. Fourteen of us went to a nice Italian restaurant close to the high school where we were performing. We made reservations early so that we would be at the school by 6:15. Apparently when you have such a large group making up individual bills is a bit of a problem and we didn’t get out of the restaurant until 6:20. By the time we got to our cars, four of us found $30.00 parking tickets under our wipers. Ugh! I was 6 minutes late. Double ugh!

I had no problem finding something I could eat at the restaurant. I enjoyed a lovely piece of grilled salmon and a salad. As with most fish it was the most expensive thing on the menu, which I excepted but the thing that I didn’t realize until it was too late was that my bill already included the tip. To add insult to injury I ended up adding another $8.00 to the bill because I didn’t want to wait for change. Lesson learned. Eat faster. Just kidding.

I tried taking pictures with my iPhone but most of them were blurry or too far away and the camera that I had with me ran out of juice. I’m hoping some of the parents will send me some of their pictures for the school website.

Tomorrow my baby sister and her husband from Calgary are coming to visit for the the weekend. I guess I better clean up around here. I still have a few things to do with my report cards and a few more things to mark as well. It would be nice to check that off my list as well.

The Girls on the Run 5 km is this Sunday and after the race my father is expecting us to come over for lunch. He’s looking forward to KFC (his Father’s Day wish). I’ll be picking it up and I’ll probably  make an extra stop to get a regular roasted chicken for me. A bag of salad and I’ll be all set.

My goal was to be down 20 pounds by the run. To date I’m down 17.5 pounds. I might be down one more pound by Sunday but I’ve decided it doesn’t matter if it comes off now or one week from now. The important thing is that the weight is coming off and I feel great. I have no desire to change my new eating patterns and go back to the old ways. When I reach my goal it will be time to set a new goal.

Cheers!

Following in the Foot Steps of the Netherlands

A big cheer before starting the second half.

….. alas we lost today

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect for a soccer game. The girls were in a good mood, positive and upbeat. In the first half it was quickly evident that our opponents were a force to be reckoned with. Our goalie had to work hard as did the entire team to keep the ball out of our net. At half time there was no score and as you can see from the photo the girls were eager to get back in the game.

Unfortunately our luck turned and the other team quickly scored on our goal and then again a few minutes later. I’m so proud of the girls that they never gave up. They played hard right to the end.

We ended up staying in the hopes that the next team from the North division would lose against the South division so that we could play another game to determine second place. Much to our surprise the team from the North was just a little better and won the whole thing. Kudos to them!

Back at school the girls told everyone that we came in third…. which is technically true.

Another New Computer and Long Overdue Photos

…. took the new one back and exchanged it for the newest version

Last night I couldn’t believe that Apple introduced a new version of the MacBook Pro, one week after buying my laptop. It was more powerful and cheaper. I checked my receipt and learned that I could return my purchase up to June 18th. I expected a fight but got quite the opposite.

Returning my purchase was painless. It couldn’t have been easier. So here I sit with a ‘newer’ laptop. K figures it will last just that much longer than the last version. My love for Apple has been renewed.

I’ve finally been able to access my photos. They include pictures of our special lunch with K after his last chemo treatment.

Me, A and J.

Hamming it up for the camera.

That’s better!

The Girls Won!

… and we’re off to the city championships on Wednesday

The temperature was over 30 degrees celcius today and there was a smog warning. Luckily neither of those factors seemed to impact negatively on the girls’ soccer team. Our first game was suppose to be at 10:00 in the morning and there was still a nice breeze. Of course the soccer fields are in large open areas and the girls and coaches were exposed to a lot of sun today.

The first game was delayed because the team before us arrived 45 minutes late. This was the first of many delays today. When we finally played we won 2 – 0 and then we had to wait and see who our competitors would be. It seemed like all the other games today went into overtime and shoot outs.

Our final game took place at 2:00 in the afternoon. We were fortunate enough to find a tree to sit under while we waited. The last game was against a school with whom we have a history. In the last few years we have been unable to beat them and it was a personal goal of our principal that we defeat them this year. No Pressure!

I’m happy to say that the girls never gave up and in the second half scored 2 goals and won the West Conference Championship. Special thanks to Coach Susan and Coach Laura. Their leadership and coaching skills really paid off today.

We get to do this again in two days. Yipee!

Cheers

Down 1

…. and found my glasses

Just a quick update before I head off to school. When I opened my mark book last night my glasses fell out. I guess when I packed up on Friday I was in a bit of a rush. Luckily the glasses are okay.

Success on the scale this morning. Down one more pound. Would have liked more but I’ll take it. The total now is 16 1/2 pounds. More later.

Cheers