My Fitness Assessment

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. no real surprises

Yesterday I had my fitness assessment done. I recently rejoined the gym that I had been a member of in years past. Like many people I was pretty hung ho and went pretty regularly in the beginning and then my visits were less frequent until I stopped going all together. I paid for an entire year and never stepped through the doors. What a waste of money.

So why did I return? Well I went back for a number of reasons. With the cold weather starting to invade our region I knew it would be more difficult to get in my daily walks and runs. The gym recently moved to a new location much closer to home and literally was on the way home from work.

I really have hit a plateau…at least on the scale at home. For some reason all the scales at the gym have me down another 2 pounds (fully dressed) but when I weigh myself at home (in my birthday suit) I’m five pounds heavier. Hmmmm…..?

At the fitness test I had my measurements taken for the first time since I started my weight loss journey. As of today my measurements are:

Height: 65 inches

Chest: 44 inches

Waist: 42 inches

Hips: 49 inches

Arms: 14 inches

BMI: 35

The goal at the gym is to lose my belly fat and get that waist measurement down to 36 inches and the BMI to 25. Tomorrow I’m going back for another meeting with my personal trainer. I’m hoping she will have a program designed for me. My personal goal is to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week and continue getting out for walks 2 or 3 times a week.

The assessment showed that my blood pressure and heart rate were good. My endurance levels, balance, flexibility and strength were mostly above average. She believes that I could be down another 20 pounds in the next three to four months. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of routine she’ll design for me.

On the diet side of my journey I’m trying to incorporate more foods that boost your metabolism. I start the day with juice from a lemon in warm water, take my vitamins ( B complex, C, D, calcium, magnesium and a multi-vitamin) and either have oatmeal or a two egg omelet with lots of veggies. Lunch is usually homemade soup or a large salad with some kind of protein and dinner is either homemade vegetable soup (Dr. Furman) and a large salad or chicken or fish and salad or stir fried or roasted vegetables. For a snack I try to eat raw vegetables and humus, or raw almonds and a couple of dates or a small amount of cheese and 6 to 10 gluten free crackers. I allow myself a glass of wine once or twice a week and try to drink more tea.

One thing I still need to work on is getting to bed earlier. It’s almost 1:00 am. So on that note I bid you Good Night.

I’m about 6 pounds lighter since this picture was taken on my birthday

Warm vs Cool

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Mama Cormier

……from one disaster to one triumph

Last week I had my first failed art class. Well half of it didn’t work out but the second half was more successful. I was teaching my grade 2/3 class about warm and cool colours. It was a concept they easily grasped. I had seen a great project that involved bleeding tissue paper onto white paper to create a beautiful new paper that was either in warm colours or cool colours. In the following class we were going to cut the new paper into pine tree shapes and create a landscape of warm or cool trees.

Unfortunately I didn’t do a sample ahead of time and I didn’t test the tissue paper we had to see if it would bleed. The colours were steadfast. The boys and girls created a colourful collage of tissue shapes using only water. When they dried very little colour came off the tissue. I’m not sure I can salvage this project.

The second project was somewhat more successful. After the children put their papers away to dry they chose warm or cool construction paper and cut out interesting shapes and created a 3D effect by curling or fringing or folding their papers before gluing them onto a black background. I’m hoping to arrange all the cool projects together and all the warm projects together to create two separate wall murals of warm vs cool abstract design.

The next day I was desperate for a new warm vs cool project for my grade 3 class. In the morning before work I got on the internet and googled ‘warm vs cool lesson’ and the first two sites that came up were youtube clips. The one demonstrated a lesson for painting a warm and cool city landscape. It was excellent. The instructor said it was foolproof and that you couldn’t make a mistake. She was right.

The kids loved this activity. The only part that gave them a little bit of difficulty was drawing in the windows. I had to show them several times how to angle the windows and doors so that the buildings maintained that 3D look.

Stressed to the Max

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Mama Cormier

… I wasn’t worried until I got the phone call

I always feel that no news is good news. It had been two weeks since my surgery; I was feeling good; the doctor who did the surgery hadn’t call me.

Then on Tuesday night when I got home from work there was a message on the phone to call my family doctor. It could only be one of two things; something showed up in the pathology report after the surgery or something showed up after my mammogram.

The next day from my office at school I called the clinic to find out why I had to see the doctor. The problem, however, is that you don’t get to talk to the doctor or even a nurse for that matter when you call the number they give you. All appointments are routed through a main switchboard and you speak to a phone receptionist who is nowhere near the actual clinic.

I know that you shouldn’t “shoot the messenger” but it was so frustrating trying to get any information from the receptionist. I knew she didn’t have access to my files and all she could tell me was that the visit had something to do with reviewing the results of the surgery.

The next problem was setting up an appointment that didn’t require me taking off an entire day or even part of a day to see the doctor. As I’ve probably told you before I’ve lost all my accumulated sick days because of a provincial government bill and I’ve already used up 3 of my 10 days for the year. The other complication is that my so called family doctor has moved further away to an area that is a little sketchy and the clinic he did work from has shut down.

My frustration on the phone was obvious and the receptionist, to her credit, was trying to help me find a solution. Apparently it doesn’t matter which clinic you visit your records can be accessed by any of their doctors. After being close to tears, we finally figured out that there is a clinic much closer to home and that I was able to get an appointment on Friday after work.

When I hung up the phone I turned around to find a small group of my library helpers standing at my door looking a little concerned. They told me I sounded a little stressed. What an understatement. I smiled and assured them that I was fine and gave each of them a job to do.

On Friday I left school early (4:15 instead of 6:00) and drove to my appointment. My friend, L, made me promise to call her as soon as I found out what the problem was. I thought I had left myself plenty of time to make it to my appointment but I ran into some unexpected traffic and I arrived 15 minutes late. It didn’t seem to matter though because the doctor was running late as well.

I had made reservations to meet friends for dinner that night for 7:00 and when I still hadn’t gotten in to see the doctor by 6:00 I started to fret about being late. I tried to call my husband but my phone had died so I hooked it up to the doctor’s outlet while I waited. As soon as I had enough juice to make calls I started calling my husband but he wasn’t picking up anywhere. Another thing to worry about.

When the nurse came into the room to see me she asked me why I was there. I explained the phone message I had received and she looked through her records. She then asked me if the appointment was for the breast screening results. There had been no mention of that before, so now I started to worry that maybe something had shown up on the mammogram. She repeated the same question and when I told her that I didn’t think so she told me that the doctor would be in to see me after one more patient.

I think that the next 15 minutes were the longest 15 minutes of my life. It’s funny how you think the worst and how many bad scenarios take hold of your mind. What will I tell my friends at dinner that night? Will I have to take more time off of work or will I just retire early?

Finally when my ‘new’ doctor arrived he put me at ease immediately. He went through all my charts, the letters from my surgeon and the breast screening results and couldn’t find any reason for me being there. The surgery went well, the mammogram was clear and I appeared to be very healthy. He double checked everything and couldn’t figure out why my last doctor underlined and question marked some of the details of the surgery. He asked me if there was anything else he could do for me while I was there so I had him give me my flu shots.

When I finally left the office I had 10 minutes to get to the restaurant. There was no time to go home first so I called my husband for the 3rd time, still didn’t get through to him so I left another message and told him to meet me at the restaurant. When I got there our friends were already waiting and the restaurant owner offered to called K again. Still no answer. A new worry! Eventually we did connect with my husband and he finally joined us at the restaurant but that’s another story for another time.

At least I was able to enjoy the rest of the evening and I didn’t have to tell people that I had a new health issue. I’m not sure I could have stayed quiet if there had been a problem. Unfortunately I forgot to phone my friend L back and I caused her some stress for a good chunk of her evening. She did eventually reach me at the restaurant and she figured out that everything was okay.

So what did I learn? …..that no news is good news!

I wish I could have been as relaxed as this little guy was while sunning himself outside my kitchen window this morning.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Green

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Mama Cormier

Looking back through my photographs I knew that green would be a major theme. The challenge was picking just two or three.

More Art and DIY Arm Warmers

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…..going around in circles

The projects that I call “Going Around In Circles” are finally coming together and I’m starting to display them in the hall. These were done by my grade 3 class.

Lately I’ve had the urge to sew something useful and work with felted wool. I follow a blog called The Renegade Seamstress, created by Beth Huntington, and Beth recently posted a tutorial on how to make these great hand warmers.The Renegade Seamstress

If you’re interested in knowing how to make these great fingerless hand warmers check out her site. You might also be interested in making the felted clutch bag. Felted Clutch

Felted Clutch

I gave these hand warmers to my principal and friend who celebrated a special birthday today. She is always cold and she loved them. Happy Birthday, M!

Update on my Weight and Fitness Level

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….I’m feeling good about my current status

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about my weight loss journey. It’s been 7 months since I started on this journey. In the beginning the weight came off quickly and the visible results were amazing. I reached my first goal of 30 pounds after 4 months.

The Benefits of Losing Weight

I felt great. I liked how I looked. It was wonderful buying new clothes and wearing size 16 pants for the first time in over 20 years. My blood pressure is back to normal levels and I’m able to run without feeling pain or gasping for air. I used to hate running and now I look forward to doing more and improving my time and overall distance.

My Love Affair With Food

I still enjoy food and eating but now I eat to nourish my body and I don’t constantly think about my next meal. I no longer feel deprived or crave sweets and junk food. On special occasions I’ll allow myself a very small serving of dessert or I might have a bite of something just to taste. It seems to satisfy me. I might enjoy a glass of wine once a week. Before the journey I’d regularly drink 2 glasses 3 or 4 times a week.

How Stress Affects Me

When I started back to work in September I was really worried about gaining some of my weight back. Years ago a naturopathic doctor assessed that I was very much affected by stress in my life. I could gain 2 to 5 pounds over a weekend when I was confronted with a stressful situation or if I anticipated a stressful occurrence. For years I would take weight off in the summer (no stress) and when I went back to work in September the weight would come back in the first two weeks.

This year I worked hard not to gain weight when I went back to work. Not gaining weight was as big a success as actually losing weight. It’s been an extremely stressful start this year. With the negative political climate for teachers in Ontario, weeding the library, running a book fair for the first time, organizing art on a cart and living through a district review and having surgery, it really is quite an accomplishment that I didn’t gain some of the weight back.

Despite everything I still managed to lose some more weight. It’s been a slow process compared to the beginning of the journey but I’m not discouraged. That’s another change that I’ve experienced. I don’t turn to food when things go wrong or don’t go exactly as planned. If I fall off the wagon I don’t wait till Monday to start eating properly again. I fix the problem with the very next meal.

Becoming Vegetarian 80% of the Time

I enjoy eating healthy foods. In the last two weeks I’ve eaten mostly vegan meals. If someone had told me in April that I would almost be a vegetarian I would have scoffed at the idea. I’ve always needed my animal protein but my husband has been experimenting with more and more vegan meals. I think eating this way has actually kick started my weight loss again.

Joining a Gym

I joined a gym this month and started working out this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday I started the day with our traditional walk through the college grounds with Frances and then in the afternoon I went to the gym and ran/walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes and then the elliptical machine for another 10 minutes. Next weekend I’m going for a fitness assessment and the trainer will design a program for me. I’m looking forward to this new part of my fitness journey.

How Much Weight Have I Lost?

While at the gym I weighed myself and according to their scales I’m down another 2 pounds for a total of 36 pounds. I’m 4 pounds away from losing 40 pounds in total. I’m very excited about how close I am. There are going to be challenges this week. I’m definitely going back to the gym tomorrow and I have yoga on Wednesday. For the rest of the week I have a number of social commitments but I’m pretty confident that I can handle it.

Reaching My Next Goal

I’m hoping that I can reach my 40 pound goal by the end of the month and then set the next of goal of 50 pounds in total. I say next because I know that the journey will continue. I don’t know for how long. I’m taking it one step at a time. I’m hoping that at some point in this journey I’ll be able to share my actual weight. I’m still not ready to do that but I have a number in mind and I’m getting close. Life is good!

Cheers

The Hands are Done…..

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Mama Cormier

… the grade 5s have finally finished their hands and coloured ribbons

It’s not completely their fault that they’re so far behind. I only see each class one day a week in a 5 day cycle. Their first art period was cancelled because it occurred on a zero day, a large number of them were away at the cross country meet, some of them missed class because of other tournaments, a few were on vacation, and then I was off for my surgery (I left the supply teacher an easier assignment).

The bigger problem is that I have a group of students in that class that have managed to keep up and in fact are so far ahead of everyone else that they’ve finished all their assignments. I planned to make the next class a catch up period but what do I do with the handful of students who have finished everything? I guess I could give them a project that no one else will have an opportunity to start later. What do you think?

grade 5 hand and ribbon

These pieces of art focused on creating secondary and tertiary colours from the three primary colours. The students first created a colour wheel after learning how to mix acrylic paints and then they created a second piece, applying what they learned when they added colour to the ribbon. The second focus was on line and shapes and how to create an interesting design with a variety of lines and filling in areas to create shapes.

The next project involved line and colour as well. Students were asked to create the illusion of depth by changing the value of the colour from dark to light as they filled in the spaces. This idea was a little more difficult for some of them to comprehend but the examples below show that some of them are beginning to grasp the concept.

Here’s a sneak preview of the last lesson I gave to my 4/5 class. The lesson was on positive and negative space and I love using this Japanese technique called Notan. Only three students finished (these are the students that I need to find more work for).

Texture

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….looking for examples for my next art lesson

Today on our walk with Frances I was on the lookout for interesting examples of texture that I can share with my students back at school. Texture is all around us, from the rough texture of bark and the thorny, prickly texture of burrs to the soft texture of grasses and seed heads and the smooth texture of leaves.

Peace Banners

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. created by students at my school for Remembrance Day

This is the first year I’ve missed the Remembrance Day assembly at school. I was off recovering from my surgery. Before I left I was able to collect most of the banners and a group of us picked some of the best from different grades within the school. We asked 5 students to talk about their banners at the assembly.

I took photos of the banners that were chosen and of the ones we were considering. One of my colleagues, K, agreed to create a slide show that would play while the students and our guests came into the gym. I also requested that someone take pictures of the gym after it was decorated with the banners. I think the children did a great job. Enjoy!

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The Next Best Thing to Children’s Art

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. buying children’s art books

Today I was able to leave school early and go the book vendors’ sale for teacher librarians. When I got there I only had two hours to browse and buy books. I had 2 main objectives: purchase this year’s Forest of Reading books and purchase French books.

Luckily one vendor had most of the Forest of Reading books so that I didn’t have to wander over that large room looking for the various titles. As for the French books, there was one vendor that sold only French books. The first time I went to this book sale this same vendor had already packed up and left by the time I got there. Even though I arrived 2 hours before closing, he was starting to pack up when I arrived at his section.

When they saw that I was interested in buying numerous books from them they were very helpful and over $900.00 later they were glad that they hadn’t left early this time. Normally I take a French Immersion teacher with me to help make decisions about which French books to buy; however today I literally had to judge a book by its cover and trust the suggestions made by the vendor. Hopefully I’ve made some good choices.

I had time to visit a third vendor today. The two women who own this book shop in the east end of Toronto are very knowledgeable about their books and I really enjoy buying books from them because they are so passionate about their books. They sold me several art books for children and I’ve decided to share them with you.

The first books are a series of art books by Irene Luxbacher, titled 1 2 3 I Can Paint, 1 2 3 I Can Print, 1 2 3 I Can Collage, 1 2 3 I Can Builld and 1 2 3 I Can Draw. They are written for children but teachers new to teaching art would find these books very helpful. Most of the examples could be used for art lesson plans.

Each book has a materials page so that you’ll know what you need to complete all the projects. Each activity has step by step instructions with clear techniques and inspirational projects that will leave children with a sense of accomplishment. At the back of the book art words that are used throughout the book are explained and teachers and parents are given tips to “ensure a good art experience every time” for their children.