Monthly Archives: August 2012

Three Days of Summer Left

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…. and  I’m already starting to feel the stress of returning to work

I’ve been at school for 4 out of 5 days this week, anywhere from a couple of hours to 6 hours, trying to remove or organize my belongings in one room and find a place for these belongings in my new room (the library office to be exact). Today I found out that the superintendent is coming to the school to observe our opening day. Even though the library won’t be used the first day I felt the pressure to tidy it up in case she decided to visit my space.

I haven’t been getting enough sleep this week. I’m slipping back into my old pattern of staying up late and getting up early. I know this plays havoc with my weight and with the added stress I’m looking at double jeopardy.

When K and I woke up this morning neither of us had the energy to drive to the cottage. We decided to leave tomorrow morning. I wish I was there now. I would already be in bed getting at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep.

The beach is calling me.

The heat was oppressive today. I put off my bike ride because it was just too hot. Our house is not air conditioned and sleeping in this weather is difficult. Thank goodness that I got out for one of our long walks this morning.

I feel like I’m coming off a ‘high’ after celebrating my birthday and visiting with old friends two days later. What a difference a couple of days can make. I seem to be in a daze and can’t make the simplest of decisions. This post makes me sound like I’m depressed. I probably am.

I started to write about other things that are weighing heavily on my mind right now but I’ve deleted most of it. It’s just too much of a downer. I know that all these feelings will pass in a day or so or after a good night’s sleep. No point in making my readers feel bad. I’m not looking for sympathy.

Things that were positive today:

I bought a brand new pair of sandals that were on sale and I had an additional $15.00 off coupon to use.

I bought 2 new flowering plants to brighten up my garden

I discovered that the cabbage that I thought had bolted is actually a brussels sprout plant and is still producing little brussels sprouts.

The main part of my library is tidy and ready for visitors.

I had a good food day today and am back on track with my eating.

I’m getting to bed before midnight so that I can enjoy my trip to the cottage tomorrow.

On that note I’m bidding you all a good night. Sleep well!

Surprises – Part 2

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….. the best was yet to come

Walking into the restaurant amid cheers and clapping and flashing cameras.

As we were driving to the restaurant I knew that K had planned something; I just wasn’t sure of the size and magnitude of the event. I didn’t want to think about it for fear of being disappointed.

I wasn’t disappointed. As we approached the restaurant I could see some of my best friends sitting by the front window. When we walked in the welcome I received was heart warming and I had a hard time containing my emotions. Everyone asked me if I was surprised. I was on two counts.

First I was surprised that K and my girls had pulled it off and secondly I was surprised and delighted by the diversity of the people in attendance. My immediate family was there and my best friends, our oldest friends from Calgary, my sister from Chatham and her family, some of my colleagues/friends from work and some of my neighbours.

K socializing with the guests.

The chef, Amato and the owner, Tony came to greet us and dinner started. It was like an Italian wedding. The menu looked something like this:

Carol’s Special Birthday Dinner

Pizza

Salad

Pasta – Rigatoni with a red sauce

Tortelini with a white sauce

Calamari

Chicken with a Citrus glaze

Veal with Mushrooms

Rapini, Yellow Squash, Red Peppers

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Chef Amato welcoming me to my party.

As you can see from the menu, there was a lot of food. K asked them to cut back on the portion sizes but that fell on deaf ears. I had to leave food on my plate. It was delicious but too much.

Both K and I walked around in between courses to talk to all the guests. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And just when you thought there couldn’t be any more food, they brought out the dessert. It was the biggest tiramisu I’ve ever seen and it was aglow with candles.

Thank goodness your 60th birthday happens only once in your lifetime. All the leftover food went straight to school the next day to be shared by the staff. I’m back on track with my eating and thank goodness I only put on 1 pound. I’ll be down again by the end of the weekend.

Cheers!

A Day Full of Surprises

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…. all good!

I started my day yesterday with our usual walked/run. I amazed myself and ran the farthest I’ve ever run without stopping, 3 complete laps or 1.5 k. I walked for about 50 feet and then ran 2 more laps without a break.

I could have done more but I had a hair appointment downtown and I knew that I was already cutting it close. When I got home it took me forever to cool down. I reasoned that if I took a shower right away I’d just start sweating again when I got out. In the end I was really rushed to make my appointment and I was about 10 minutes late. Luckily it wasn’t a busy morning and my hairstylist was able to accommodate me.

I came home after my appointment and was surprised with a beautiful pot of flowers from my aunt and an even bigger surprise was waiting for me on the deck. Parked in front of the sliding glass doors was a gorgeous red city bike.

My new Linus Dutchie in my favourite colour.

This, I was not expecting at all.

I didn’t have time to test ride it because I had another appointment for a European pedicure and a manicure.

Having my feet pampered is one of my favourite indulgences and it was courtesy of my son B who gave me the gift certificate last Christmas. His girlfriend, A picked out the spa. Good job guys. I felt completely pampered and my feet and nails look great.

For those of you who don’t know what a European pedicure is let me explain and show you. First of all, everything you experience with a regular pedicure is included in the European version. The difference is the application of not one but two different masks that are applied to your feet and legs. The first one is a ‘cooling’ mask that is teal green in colour and the second application is a ‘warm’ paraffin wax.

The ‘cooling’ mask.

The ‘warm’ paraffin wax application covered with warming booties.

The finished product.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a relaxing afternoon at the spa I headed home to get ready for dinner.

Now I have to admit that I love surprises. All day I’ve been curious about how the day would end. I wouldn’t be disappointed.

…… to be continued.

Reflections on Turning 60

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….time to slow down? I don’t think so….

Turning Sixty

Today I’m 60

A new milestone in my life

What does it mean?

Retirement?, maybe, eventually

I still love what I do 

Teaching doesn’t allow me to slow down

There’s too much to do

Too much I want to do

I’ve only just started running

Blogging and writing

and experimenting with photography

Time to slow down?

I don’t have time to shift into low gear

I want to take more art classes

and improve my painting craft

I love teaching art to children and

sharing books and reading to them in the library

I’m becoming more techno literate and

want to take more computer classes and

experiment with apps and new programs

Time to give my brain a rest?

I don’t think so

I want to read good literature 

and focus on my writing

I love playing with words and 

have started playing Scrabble again

both on the traditional board and on-line

Is it time to become less physical?

I don’t think so

I need to keep up my strength

to work the soil in the garden, mow the lawn

and prune the hedges

My dog needs her exercise 

and gets me out for long walks

I want to run and I mean really run more 5 k races

Is it time to care less about my appearance?

I’m too vain for that

I need to cover the grey in my hair 

and apply day cream and night cream

to slow down the wrinkles

I like the new thinner me and want

to take it further

I feel better, younger and more alive 

than when I was 50

Retirement?

It is near and I look forward to

more travel

I want to see the world and

spend more time with my sisters

in Calgary and Merlin

I need to spend more time with my Dad

who will soon be 86

His new goal is to live to be 100

but I need to enjoy his company now

I want to give back to the community

and volunteer my time

I just don’t know how

I need to continue learning

Taking another university course is a possibility

or maybe 

a photography class or two

and a cooking class with my husband

and maybe, just maybe enjoy the company 

of some grandchildren

Is it time to retire to the couch?

I couldn’t even if I wanted to

There’s too much to do 

Too much I want to do

Carol Cormier / August 28, 2012

Down 2, 1 More to Go

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…. to reach my goal of 30 pounds by tomorrow

I’m not sure I can reach my 30 pound goal by my birthday but I do know that 30 pounds is inevitable. It might be tomorrow or the next day or maybe not until next week but that’s okay.

The compliments I received today when I returned to school have made all the hard work worthwhile. This is only the beginning. I’ve been here before and I know how easy it is to put it all back on. I can’t afford to become complacent.

Today I spent a couple of hours at school but I didn’t get very much done. I spent a lot of time catching up with colleagues and helping others with ideas and approaches for the upcoming year.

At around noon my husband called me to remind me of my aunt’s doctor’s appointment. I hurried to my car, grabbed a coffee at the Tim Horton’s drive through and made my way to the hospital. Luckily I found parking on the street. K had already dropped my aunt off at the hospital and I looked in all the usual places before finally locating her in the blood lab waiting to have samples drawn from her arm.

She looked relieved when I walked in because things were moving a lot faster today than in the past. After her blood work was completed we headed up the elevator to a floor we hadn’t been on before and were quickly ushered into another waiting room.

To make a long story short we were seen by four more people, including a new doctor that my aunt adores…. thank goodness…..and put through numerous interviews, questions and other tests. After two hours we were set free but not until we arranged for another appointment for a stress test that will take four hours to administer.

The next appointment is in four weeks unless we hear otherwise. After taking my aunt home she invited me inside where she made me a strong coffee and we had a nice visit for about 1 1/2 hours.

This entire time I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. When I got home I was starving. I heated up some leftover homemade curry which K and I enjoyed for dinner. I hope missing a meal doesn’t play havoc with my weight loss. I’m very full and will probably not eat again till tomorrow.

I’m about to head out the door for a nice long walk with Frances. If I see anything of interest I might add it to this post when I get back.

Cheers!

My official ‘before’ picture taken in March 2012 just before I started my weight loss journey.

Photo taken today, 29 pounds lighter, in the same blouse.

 

 

Frogs and Bark

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…. almost stepped on the first and have an obsession with the second

Just got back from the cottage and I immediately downloaded my photos from the camera.     I had a relaxing weekend with my husband. No stair building, no leave raking… nothing too strenuous.

On our walk of the beach yesterday I almost stepped on this little guy. Good thing I was looking down at the time. A little further down I found a second one.

I love the texture of bark and think it makes great material for photographs. The lichen on this maple tree gives the bark a beautiful bluish tinge.

A lot of the trees have these interesting scars on the bark. We think that it’s due partially to the deer that sometimes come across the ice in the wintertime and chew on the bark for food.

On our recent trip to Niagara Falls, I came across this beautiful little grove of trees at the Botanical Gardens. I’ve never seen such white, perfect little birches in my life. My cottage is surrounded by birch trees but the young saplings are never this white and the older, more mature trees are gnarly and textured with peeling bark.

A grove of young birch trees at the botanical gardens in Niagara Falls, Canada.

A Very Long Walk

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….we decided to walk extra far today instead of doing our usual run.

I got ready for my walk/run today without the usual coaxing from my husband. Instead I had to light a fire under him to get us moving today.

When we got to the rugby pitch we decided to forego the run and walk further along the path than we would normally. Frances was not pleased. She kept pulling toward the pitch and then toward the lake but we persevered and moved on.

This is what Frances wanted to do today. We did let her have a short swim at the beach in Marie Curtis Park before we turned around to come home.

We walked past an area in Toronto where the homes sit on the lake. Some are the original little cottages that were built there almost 100 years ago and others are massive monster homes that have slowly been replacing the cottage-like dwellings. I can’t blame people for tearing down some of the older homes. Property values on the lake are through the roof. I do have a problem with homes that don’t fit into the neighbourhood because of poor design or little regard for the vernacular of the neighbourhood.

The Old Cottages…..

Anyway the walk was long and Frances was not a happy puppy. When I got home I went to gmap-pedometer and mapped out our route. We walked 8.75 km. It seemed longer for some reason.

I’m leaving for the cottage today or early tomorrow morning so I won’t be posting for a few days. I’m looking forward to my long walks on the beach and through the woods and getting in a few last swims before the end of summer. Can you believe it’s almost September?  Boo-hoo!!!

 

 

 

 

 

…..replaced by monster homes like this!

The old places definitely need work but the new monster homes have so little character.

Some of the renovations are stunning and I’ve included some of my favourites. They still have that cottage feel and look but are obviously larger and have more modern amenities. They’re also beautifully landscaped. You be the judge.

Back to Running

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….. I love this poster. I’ll think about it every time I run laps.

Today I went running with my husband, K and our dog Frances. I did 6 laps of the rugby pitch and of those 6, I ran 5. K lapped me once but I’m proud of the fact that I did 2 laps without stopping and after that I walked about 50 m and then ran 1 full lap before walking again. Each lap is roughly 500 m.

It felt good to get out and run again. I hadn’t done it for about a week. I was thinking about how slowly I run as I was doing my laps but this poster has put a new perspective on it for me.

When we got home I got out into the garden and cut the grass in the front and back and then trimmed the edges and cut back the shrubs. I still have to cut the hedge. Maybe I’ll get a start on that after dinner.

The other thing that I started again today was drinking more water. I find that it really does help with my weight loss. Dinner tonight is a vegetarian dish, homemade chickpea curry. Yum!

I have 1 week to get to my goal of losing 30 pounds before my birthday. I need your positive energy sent across air waves. Wish me luck!

Cheers

My vegetarian chickpea curry with a dollop of fat free Greek yogurt. If there’s enough interest I’ll post the recipe.

Down 1/2 More but I’ve a Long Way to Go

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…. stepped on the scale with my eyes shut this morning.

After 3 days at the cottage, with stops at Tim Horton’s for breakfast both ways, a birthday celebration, a spaghetti meal (my first in 4 months) and pancakes for breakfast not once but twice, I was terrified to see the number on the scale this morning. I literally had my hands over my eyes as I stepped onto the scale and then I carefully spread my fingers apart to face the music.

I was so surprised by the number that I got off the scale, reset it, and got on it again. It showed the same number. I am down another 1/2 pound. I was certain that I was going to see an increase.

I have a long way to go with my weight loss journey. That became abundantly clear when I saw pictures of myself in a bathing suit this weekend. Not a pretty sight! I was becoming complacent about how I looked because I felt good in my clothes. My old clothes were fitting much looser and new clothes that I purchased were smaller sizes. I can say that I am almost out of plus sizes (depending on the cut and the manufacturer).

I am more determined than ever to continue losing weight. I want to be able to say that I’m down 30 pounds before returning to school. My good friend L, asked me how I was going to continue losing weight once I started work again. One thing I want to do is help out with the cross country team again but this time I want to run with the kids and not just be in charge of the paperwork.

I know it will be a challenge. The stress of starting a new job, the labour unrest in the province with teachers and the constant temptation of snacks in the staffroom will haunt me. I’m not really worried about the food. Saying no to the snacks is the least of my worries.

When we went to Niagara Falls last week we packed a lunch, with lots of fruit and vegetables to snack on and water to drink. I just have to pack a picnic everyday when I go to school.

I would never have sat on this chair 27 1/2 pounds ago.