….. getting away…see you Sunday night!
I remembered Crazy Hair Day. I’m sitting here with my hair up in 3 pony tails.
It’s going to be warm again today but not as bad as the last 3 days. Looking forward to the beach this weekend.
Cheers!
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Category Archives: About Me
Ahhhhhh…………Relief!
………. the rain came and the heat finally broke.
The heat has been unbearable. It makes you want to do nothing but sit quietly. So much for exercising.
The heat makes me retain water and I’ve shown a gain on the scale. It’s also partly due to the stress I’ve been under which also has a negative impact on my weight loss.
After today no more excuses. The heat wave has lifted, the report cards are done, and the activities for next week have been organized and are pretty much ready to go.
I went to see my aunt tonight. She’s still in the hospital but her spirits are good. Tomorrow is her 86th birthday and unfortunately she’ll be spending it in the hospital. I’m away for the weekend but K will probably pay her another visit and I’ll pop in Sunday evening when I get home. It looks like it’ll be Tuesday at the earliest before they release her. The problem is they don’t know what is causing the congestive heart failure in the first place and her lungs aren’t completely cleared.
It’s crazy hair day at school tomorrow. I’ve been pretty bad at remembering some of these spirit days. I’m hoping that writing it down here will help me remember. If I do I’ll post a picture.
Cheers for now!
That Feeling of Dread has Passed
….. my reports are finally done!
I can’t explain how I feel except that it’s a lot better than how I felt on Tuesday.
After the race on Sunday I really wasn’t myself. I felt weird. Even my family noticed I was out of sorts. The comments didn’t help, even though I know they were out of concern for my well being. Saying things like ‘running at my age probably wasn’t a good idea’ or ‘pushing myself was bad for my health’ made me feel insecure and somewhat foolish.
Tuesday was probably my lowest point. I wanted to find a doctor to check me out. I literally had this feeling of doom come over me. I cried at the drop of a pin and I couldn’t think straight. Finishing my report cards seemed like an impossible task even though I’ve been doing them for over 30 years.
My principal and good friend, M, calmed my fears and told me that after everything I’ve experienced this past year I was probably experiencing anxiety attacks or a form of PTS. Word spread that I was having a difficult time and a number of my colleagues and friends started to take some of the stresses off my back by offering to help me with my report cards, go to a meeting for me and just be there for me. I started to feel better immediately.
I also have a few leads on finding a family doctor. I really feel the need to get the go ahead from a physician to continue with my running. I’ll keep on walking and now that the ‘hot’ weather is here I’ll start swimming again as well.
On Tuesday night I went to L’s house and we sat at the computer for 4 hours and finished most of learning skills comments for my students. Today I finished the remaining few comments after school.
That feeling of dread really has passed and I never want to feel it again.
We’re Having a Heat Wave!
…. and no AC in our classrooms.
The second day of record breaking temperatures in Toronto and summer hasn’t even officially begun.
This time last year it didn’t even feel like June because the temperatures were so cool. It was great in our rooms but when the last day of school arrived it almost came as a shock because it still felt like spring.
The media is talking about keeping children inside because of the humidity. It’s going to feel like 40 degrees celsius. The only cool place in the school is the computer lab. I’m pretty sure we can’t fit 380 children in there.
Any suggestions out there for keeping this many children cool???
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!
Mama Cormier 