A Beautiful Saturday – Why am I Creating a To Do List?

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….am I crazy or just practical?

I suspect I’m doing this because it needs to be done

To Do List for April 12, 2014

rake front lawn
sprinkle bone meal on garden
take out garden furniture
clean out bird cage
do laundry – started
take out summer clothes and put away winter clothes
clean oven – started
write post – started
go for a walk
dust living room floor and shelves – floors done
vacuum carpets upstairs and down – started
take photographs

As you can see I’ve already started some of these chores. I think I need to fill the gaps with some fun stuff.

My husband must be feeling my energy this morning because he’s started raking the back yard and he’s taken out our bikes and cleaned them off. Maybe we can get out for a ride this afternoon. Well, I’m off to start some work outside as well. Maybe by putting this out there for the world to see I might actually accomplish all of the things on my To Do List or at least get 90% of it done. Wish me luck. I’ll report later today to let you know how I successful I’ve been.

On the fitness and weight loss journey: I’m struggling. Up 3 and down 2. Today’s goal is to get out and move and drink at least 4 large glasses of water. One glass down and 3 to go.

I thought I posted this 2 hours ago. Apparently not. In the meantime I’m down 3 glasses of water, 2 loads of laundry, raked the front and the back yard, finished cleaning the oven, sprinkled bone meal on the garden, and took out the garden furniture. I also took down the Christmas lights, trimmed the yew and bagged 2 bags of yard waste. Now let’s see if I can get this thing posted…..an ongoing problem.

Up 4, Down 4

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….an update on my weight loss journey

Before I left for Calgary I was hoping to maintain my weight and not gain weight over five days.

The optimum word here was ‘hope’. Weight loss is never about hope. It’s about ‘doing’. I didn’t go to Calgary with the plan to not eat dessert, not drink wine and not eat bread and pasta. Instead I went with the notion that I could eat everything but in moderation.

That was all fine and well but the missteps started right on the plane. I had a least 3 drinks. I passed on the bread but I ate the rice and the ice-cream. I did pass on the potato chips but I didn’t turn down the dark chocolate. When we arrived at my sister’s place the wine came out almost immediately. Her husband cooked us dinner. Pasta with seafood. My weakness.

The next day we met my friends at the local conservation area where an art exhibition was on display in the learning centre. Afterwards we stopped by their house and I picked up dessert to have with coffee. Of course they had also picked up dessert. I should have declined but no I had a bit of all the desserts.

This is pretty much how the entire 5 days went. Very little exercise, lots of wine and good food. It shouldn’t have been a surprise when I gained 4 pounds. So much for maintaining my weight.

Since I’ve been back I’ve eaten much better. I’ve had salads pretty much every day for lunch and then again with dinner. I’ve been trying to drink a lot of clear tea during the day and not eat at night. I think in the last 10 days I’ve had only a couple glasses of wine and I’ve turned down sweets at school most of the time. It’s taken 10 days but I’ve finally dropped the 4 pounds that I had gained.

The challenge now is to stay on track with the healthy eating plan and watch the weight come off. The weather is beginning to turn around and hopefully I will be able to get out and walk. I’ll report in again when I’m down another pound or two. The journey continues.

Time to Come Clean

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Mama Cormier

……about my weight

It’s been almost 2 years since I started this blog and it quickly became a platform for documenting my weight loss. I never divulged my beginning weight and only talked about the number of pounds that came off. I just couldn’t bring myself to say that number. Somehow it brought me shame and I was afraid that people who knew me would judge me differently if they knew exactly how much I weighed. It didn’t help that all the doctors that I’ve ever been to have always said that I don’t look as heavy as I am. I haven’t even told my husband how much I weigh.

I lost a total of 32 pounds and managed to maintain that loss for about a year. I lost a few more pounds here and there but I always put them back on. Last year I told people that I had lost 30 pounds because the weight started to creep back on. I gained a few pounds and I lost a few but slowly I started not losing all the pounds I gained back. Last summer I was up six pounds, down four, back up four when I went on holiday and then back down four before I went back to work.

Stress has always been killer for me when it comes to weight gain. Also I have some psychological barrier that seems to keep me from getting below a certain weight. In the last 20 years every time I get close to that goal weight my weight loss stops. Periodically, in the last year I’ve talked about getting serious and getting back on track. I never want to gain back those 32 pounds I worked so hard at losing but my drive is in low gear right now and try as I might it just isn’t enough.

Last week when I put myself on the scale (which I avoided since Christmas) I was up eight pounds from September. I watched my food intake all week and when I put myself on the scale again I was up three more pounds. Yikes! I wanted to lose most of that weight before I went to see my sister in Calgary next week. Part of my problem is my lack of movement. I can’t believe how much I let this winter keep me on the couch ( in front of this computer).

My middle sister sent me an interesting article this morning on why we gain weight that has nothing to do with what we put in our bodies. I am guilty on all counts. Lack of sleep and having light from computers and electronic devises in front of us before we go to bed actually causes weight gain. I guess she noticed my weight gain and was too polite to mention it to me. Come to think of it no one has actually said anything to me about my weight gain, even when I’ve complained about my coat being too tight and putting on weight over a weekend. Here is the link from the Epoch Times for the article Two Common Weight Loss Mistakes.

As much as I love teaching, it is a stressful job. In the past, September was the month where my weight gain would start. I would lose ten pounds or more in the summer and then when school started it would all come back. Two years ago that didn’t happen but my weight loss stopped. Part of my problem was that I was happy with how I looked and felt. I loved all the compliments.

I can’t let this continue. So I’m going to start with the two things that the article talked about: sleep and light.

Before my 30 pound weight loss

Down 32 pounds.

My goal is to stop working on the computer and watching TV by 10:00 every night. Maybe I’ll read more and organize my clothes, lunch and school bags from 10:00 to 11:00 so I’m not in such a rush in the morning. Hopefully that way I can be in bed by 11:00 and get a solid 7 1/2 hours sleep instead of the five to six that I get now.

Today, still down 20 pounds but up 12.

In the past I weighed myself everyday. I know that some people believe you should only weigh yourself once a week or even less frequently but I find that I put off what I need to do if I don’t check my weight more often. Look what happened when I didn’t weigh myself in almost three months.

I’m still not ready to reveal my actual weight. If only strangers read this blog I wouldn’t care but my family, friends, colleagues and even some of my students read my posts. Some day, but not today.

The most difficult part will be turning off this computer and not constantly checking my emails and stats. I have to admit I’ve become a bit of an addict. I’ll also start using this blog as a platform to record my progress with my weight loss journey, again. It helped last time and It kept me motivated to succeed. If you don’t hear from me on this front please feel free to ask how I’m doing.

I haven’t weighed myself in a couple of days so I’ll start tomorrow and then see how regular sleep and cutting back on the light before bedtime affects my weight. Of course I’ll watch what I eat and for now I’ll aim to get out and walk at least four times a week. I’m not sure how spending five days with my sisters will affect my weight but I won’t use that as an excuse. I’ll enjoy myself but I don’t have to be excessive with food or drink. Maybe I should aim to maintain rather than lose for those five days.

The three sisters taken 6 weeks ago.

Share Your World – Week 6

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….this week’s questions definitely have an ‘Olympic’ theme….how fitting

Have you watched or plan to watch any of the 2014 Winter Olympics?

I haven’t watched any of the Olympics. I’ve listened to and watched the results on the news. My husband has no interest in these Olympics. The negative politics around the treatment of the gay community in Russia has put a damper on the Olympics for us. I’m glad that there haven’t been any ‘incidents’ and I’m hoping that there won’t be a terrorist attack while the games are on or for that matter, ever. I’m sure that I will sneak a peak at a few events that I love to watch.

What is your favorite winter Olympic event? Would you ever want to be an expert in that sport?

I love the luge and bobsled runs, all skiing events and speed skating. I don’t think that I could ever be an expert in any of these sports. High speeds scare me too much, especially going downhill.

Have you ever met an Olympic Athlete?

My husband’s cousin, Wendy Weibe, was in the summer Olympics in 1996, for rowing. This is one sport that I could be an expert in. About 10 years ago I took up rowing for two seasons. I loved it. I competed in both 8 man and 4 man boats.

Do you have a favorite athlete? Name sport.

I don’t really identify with athletes. I like some team sports but I’m not a huge fan for any one sport. Consequently I don’t really know the name of athletes. Now if some of our teams actually performed well I might become a fan. I do like soccer and if some of the high profile acquisitions actually work out I might find a favourite athlete.

Toronto FC

What is your favorite exercise or sport? Is there a reason why?

My favourite team sport is volleyball because I used to play and now I coach (well I did). I also coach basketball, soccer and running. My personal favourite exercise is walking and running. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up a bit so that I can get back outside and at least walk. I also like cross country skiing but this winter has been too cold and driving to ski trails has been too treacherous. I’m also looking forward to getting back on my bike as soon as the snow melts.

: Walking with my husband and dog

: Hiking in Ireland

: Running Buddies

: Canoeing

: Soccer practice

: Coaching the girls

: Cycling with my husband

: My birthday present

: Basketball practice

From Zero to Hero – Day 8

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Mama Cormier

DAY 8: MAKE YOUR “ABOUT” PAGE IRRESISTIBLE

I have to admit that it’s been awhile since I’ve updated my About page. When I saw today’s assignment I thought “why not?’.

The first week back at school has been a tough one. Everyone is exhausted. It’s been extraordinarily long and I thought Friday would never come. Today I went out for recess duty when it wasn’t my turn. I simply forgot that I had a made a change with one of my colleagues weeks ago. I went back inside because I did have a scheduled duty later in the afternoon.

I started my day with a 7:45 basketball tryout session with 32 grade 4 and 5 boys and I ended the day staying late, trying to figure out how to open up the report card system so that teachers could start recording their marks and comments. Normally it’s a pretty straight forward procedure but we had a few changes in staff recently and we had to call the help desk for some assistance. Of course the help desk was very busy as well so there was some waiting on the phone before we could talk to someone. Our problem wasn’t as easy to resolve as one might think but after a half hour on the phone, some running back and forth and paging a few staff members most of the glitches were fixed and one last problem, we were assured, would be resolved by the morning.

I have to admit that I am extraordinarily tired today. After cleaning up after dinner I have no energy for any extra jobs today, although I did pack up one more box of Christmas stuff. I got a little bit of exercise on yard duty today. I don’t like just standing around so I walk for the full 15 minutes when I’m outside, especially when it’s cold.

Check out my ‘new and improved’ About page.

Cheers!

From Zero to Hero – Day 7

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Mama Cormier

Today’s assignment: create and upload a simple header, or test out a few different backgrounds.

Todays post is going to be short. I’m constantly changing my header and I just recently put the present header in place so I’m not changing my header today. I’m just not feeling it. A while back I discovered that I could change my background and I went from a solid colour to a bin of yellow peppers to what I have now which is a piece of my artwork. Not everything you’ll try will work. Simple and bold seems to work best. Anything with a lot of detail just gets lost behind your text box.

Today’s Job

Today I spent a lot of time in the kitchen cleaning and putting away the things that tend to get left out on the counter. I also swept up all the pine needles from the Christmas tree that the garbage truck finally picked up today. One box of ornaments has been packed up and the Christmas stockings have all been removed from the living room. It’s a slow process but I’ll do a little bit everyday until it’s done. Hopefully the last of the decorations will be safely packed away by the end of the weekend.

Update on the heating problem at school:

The library was nice and warm today but the custodian did say that it was pretty cold in the morning when he arrived. His solution was to turn off all the fans and that did the trick. The fans seemed to be pulling in the cold air from the outside. The kindergarten rooms now have heat but two of the portables were still without heat early this morning. One of the classes spent half the day in the library again but by the afternoon the problem was fixed.

I was outside for a short spell this morning and I walked through the halls during first recess but my goal to move has been seriously hampered by the weather. The temperatures, however, have been getting warmer everyday so hopefully tomorrow I can resume my walking routine without any fear of getting frostbite.

Till tomorrow, cheers!

From Zero to Hero – Day 3

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….. in a previous post I told you I didn’t fix things that involved electricity…I lied

Today’s assignment: write the post that was on your mind when you decided to start a blog.

This post is one that I hesitated to publish because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I was feeling somewhat melancholy after spending 3 wonderful days with my entire family. I think I was at a peak of euphoria when everything around me seemed to crash. Luckily the feeling was short lived and I’ve had more memorable moments with my son. For that reason the following post has been altered somewhat to reflect on the positive more than the negative.

Feeling a Little Melancholy

Posted on January 4, 2014

….after three wonderful days with family

I knew that when my son came to visit, he would need to spend time with his friends. I just didn’t know that it would hit me so hard. I’ve looked forward to his visit for so long and when things didn’t go exactly as had been planned I experienced deep disappointment. There were times when I felt I was doing a lot of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. So unlike me. I usually make things happen.

On the 30th of December, my son and his twin sister celebrated their birthdays. Earlier plans changed slightly to accommodate extra guests that been invited. Originally G and Az were suppose to prepare the meal at G’s place and we were all going over there for a big Iranian feast. G’s place, however, is just too small so the party was moved to my place. All in all it turned out to be a great meal and the important part for me was that I had my family together again.

I’m not complaining. I’m just overwhelmed and emotional. I love all my children and they all left the nest years ago. I wasn’t one of these moms that couldn’t cut the apron strings. When they left I was happy that they were starting on a journey to establish their own lives and when they call or visit I’m happy. My son, however, moved far away and I haven’t been able to hug him and reach out to him. So now that he’s here I think I expect more from him.

B and Az left on Thursday and took a train to Montreal for a three of day adventure. They’ll be back late tonight and then on Sunday they fly back to the Netherlands. Sigh!

Now I have a wedding to look forward to. The dates and the venue haven’t been decided but Turkey was mentioned as a possible destination. Smiling!

Day 3- My Task for the Day

Early this morning I fixed the lamp. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was not comfortable doing anything electrical but the lady in the store, yesterday showed me how easy it was to replace the part on the lamp. She was right. Here are some pictures documenting this momentous occasion.

Here is the part I had to replace.

Notice how I use my dining room table as a work bench.

Success!

The lamp with its brand new shade.

Once the lamp was repaired I checked my list to see what other job I would tackle today. I decided to wash and organize my night table and the ledge on the bay window behind my bed. Over the holidays and probably some time before that those two areas had become dumping grounds for my jewellery, hair accessories and creams and cosmetics. I love costume jewellery and never seem to have enough. As you can see from the before and after pictures it had become quite impossible to find anything.

On the window sill I needed to reorganize my jewellery and dust off the pictures. I actually threw a few things away and found a new home for some of my heavier and longer necklaces (in my closet). I really do have too many pieces and I should probably separate the pieces that I wear all the time from the ones I never wear. What I do with the latter I’m not sure but I’m sure I can find them a good home somewhere.

I was on a roll and when I finished this area of my bedroom I also decided to clean off my bookshelf which also becomes a dumping ground. Here is the after picture.

I’m enjoying this job a day challenge. Tomorrow might be a bit more difficult. My son and his fiancé are leaving for the Netherlands in the late afternoon and company is arriving tomorrow to see them off. One of the ‘jobs’ that I have to complete is read The Rosie Project before Monday and I need to start on some books for school. So I think tomorrow’s jobs will involve reading.

Day 3 – Walking

I was worried that I might not get out for my walk today so I made sure that my husband was up for a walk after dinner. It’s warmed up considerably since yesterday so the walk was very pleasant. In fact, on the way out we were almost too warm but coming back we were walking into the wind and were glad for our warm coats and mittens. In total the walk covered 3.7k.

From Zero to Hero – Day 2 – “What’s in a name?”

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..the challenge is to change the name of the blog

The name Mama Cormier has been with me for a long time. My daughter first used it when she was coming up with a user name for my email account. It’s a name that has just stuck with me all these years. Are there advantages to changing it at this time? I guess my biggest concern is confusing those who already follow me. I have considered using Mama Cormier with an added phrase but nothing grabs me. On the other hand, I have expanded the tag line that follows the name. It used to be ….memories and so much more and now it reads….my journey to a healthy life, making new memories and so much more.

I like having an eclectic blog where I can write about whatever comes my way. Maybe my readership would increase if I had a main focus but that’s not who I am. My life is eclectic. I have eclectic taste in music, art, design, clothing, and furniture. I like to try new things and explore different places.

Day 2 – Walking

Today I decided to try walking again. This time the sun was shining and the winds had disappeared. It was still very cold, -20 celsius but the lake had calmed down and the waves moved slowly like molasses with thin crusts of ice floating on the surface.

: So much better than yesterday

: The city skyline is back

: The sun glistening on the lake

: Ice floating on the lake

: ….more ice

The lake hardly ever freezes because of its immense size so when you see ice on the lake you know it’s cold out there. The city skyline came back into view today and only wisps of fog settled close to the surface of the water.

The three of us dressed warmly for today’s hike (Frances always wears the same fur coat) but the salt and the frigid temperatures were too much for our little dog. We headed back home after a very short walk to the park at the end of the street.

I recently purchased special booties for the dog but she didn’t want any part of them when I tried to put them on her today. Oh well, too bad, so sad, I went for the walk on my own. I was already dressed and I wasn’t the least bit cold today. I walked all the way to Col. Sam Smith Park and proceeded to the lookout by the yacht club.

It was eerily quiet today. There were very few people out walking and there were stretches where I didn’t see a soul. In the last couple of weeks there have been sightings of coyotes in the area and my mind started to think about the possibility of meeting up with one or two of them along the walk. What would I do? I took some comfort in the fact that I had my cell phone with me and if need be I could always call 911 if I got into some kind of trouble.

As I got closer to the point I finally ran into another walker and his dog. I told him how glad I was to see him and he told me that he had seen the coyotes a couple of times in the last two days. He assured me that if I made some noise that they would probably stay away from me. I remember my friend D, telling me that I should sing if I was ever in the woods alone and that would keep away any wildlife.

After I said good-bye to the dog walker, I headed back towards the college and I started to hum and sign O Canada. If anybody heard me they probably thought I was a bit off my rocker.

Closer to the campus there is a great new figure 8 outdoor skating facility and lo and behold other people were also out today enjoying a skate on the ice. I watched for a few minutes while I took some photos and then realized that my morning coffee was pressing against my bladder and that I needed to quickly find a washroom. This is the down-side of going for long walks at my age but luckily there was a Tim Horton’s close by on the campus.

After using the facilities I purchased a medium coffee to warm my insides and keep my hands warm. Actually the down mittens that I was wearing were so warm that I had to take them off periodically because my hands started to sweat. For awhile the coffee cup kept them warm but in -20 degree weather the coffee didn’t stay warm for long.

When I got home I tracked the distance on Google Maps and discovered that I had walked a total distance of 5.15k. Not bad considering the conditions but I have to admit that I really enjoyed being out in the sun today.

Day Two – Job

I’ve written down numerous jobs that I want to tackle this month. One of them is fixing a lamp that I painted years ago. The electrical hardware had come loose and the shade wobbled back and forth. I wasn’t sure why it did that or how to fix it so I took it to an electrical lighting store today.

The clerk kindly unscrewed the parts and informed me that the thread on the one part had become stripped and needed to be replaced. I could leave it with them and wait three weeks for it to be fixed or I could purchase the part and do it myself. I chose the latter option but they didn’t have the part in stock. I bought a new shade from them and then drove to the closest Canadian Tire and found the part there.

When I got home tonight I was going to fix the lamp right after supper but when I sat down to check my emails I discovered that I had forgotten about a get together with friends tonight. I had started supper already and my husband told me not to worry about him and go and enjoy myself. I made sure that everything for dinner was well underway and I quickly got ready to go out.

I didn’t get home till after 11:00 so I didn’t finish the lamp and I wasn’t even sure I’d get to writing this post but here I am about to finish it. Tomorrow is another day. The lamp should only take a few minutes to fix and I can think about the next project I want to start. I decided when I started this challenge that the jobs that I chose to work on didn’t have to be finished in one day. Some of them may take several days to complete.

Well I’m going to add a few photos and then off to bed. Oh my, it’s almost 2:00 in the morning. Good night!

Cheers!

I Must Confess

Posted on November 16, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….I haven’t walked or run in weeks

As much as I like to walk and even run I haven’t done much of either in several weeks. Today I left the house early in the morning to have new tires installed on my car. I’ve been shopping around and found that Costco had the best deals but you can’t make an appointment. I arrived right at opening and was shocked to find that I was number 22 in line. Luckily the wait wasn’t too long and I’m glad I didn’t get there any later than I did because they stopped taking cars at number 24. The downside was that I had to leave the car and it wouldn’t be ready for six hours. Obviously I wasn’t going to wait around for that length of time so I decided to start walking home.

I wasn’t sure how far the walk would be but my plan was to walk about one third of the way and then phone my husband and have him pick me up at the Italian bakery. I ordered a cappuccino and a breakfast sandwich and then pulled out my phone. It was dead. Oh well!

I knew that the walk was doable, so after nourishing myself I continued to walk. It is a beautiful day today in Toronto, one that I’m sure we won’t see too many of before next spring. I forgot how much I really do like to walk. As I got closer to home I felt compelled to walk even further and check out the library to see if they had the book I needed for our next book club meeting. Bonus! I lucked out and checked out their only copy of The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.

When I got home my husband was surprised to see me walk through the door and no car in the driveway. I went to gmap pedometer and mapped out the route and discovered that the walk covered 5 k. Will I walk back to pick up the car? Probably not but then one should never say ‘never’. I will, however, do some gardening today and plant some tulip bulbs that were gifted to me and maybe I’ll join my husband and daughter and walk the dogs to Sam Smith Park.

It’s going to be a good day!

Cheers!

Up in the Treetops

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..as for me maybe next year

When I first saw the treetop trekking course I was in awe. I couldn’t believe how high the course was. I found out later that the wires were anywhere from 25 to 40 feet off the ground. This is the first year that Mono Cliffs has offered this amazing program to students. Our school was only the second school group to attempt this course.

Before the students were allowed on the high course they participated in a team building activity where they were encouraged to walk across a low ropes course. The wires and swings were close to the ground so that if one lost their balance all they had to do was step off. It was pretty challenging walking across those wires but I did it. It wasn’t a pretty site as my body wobbled and shook, making my way across.

It was raining and cold the morning my group headed towards the treetop course. The three groups that had already experienced the ropes had perfect weather. Everyone raved about the experience and my colleagues encouraged me to take on the challenge. All of us were fitted with safety harnesses and helmets and then sent to a different low ropes area where we learned how to use the harnesses and transfer our clips from one part of the course to the next. Safety first.

After going across the low ropes I felt much more confident and even allowed myself to hang from the ropes in the harness. I waited my turn to go up the cargo net to the first platform. I cheered on the students ahead of me and praised the two who attempted the climb but couldn’t bring themselves to go any further than the platform. When it was my turn my hands were already numb from the cold but I started the climb up the ropes anyway. It was much harder than I expected. The first platform was 30 feet from the ground and I was about 6 feet away when my arms just gave out. I tried to rest but my experience with anything physical has taught me that when you’re physically spent, pushing yourself can only lead to trouble.

The one thing that I’ve always wanted to experience is being repelled from a significant height. So rather than climb back down I asked if I could be repelled. It was a lot of fun and it inspired the two students who didn’t continue on the course to climb back up and then then experience the same thing. I think they felt a lot better having done that.

As for me, I definitely need to build up my upper body strength before I attempt this again. Losing more weight would also help. I’m actually looking forward to trying this again.