Another Thing to Check Off the List

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. 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

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Mama Cormier

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.

Ate Well, Worked Hard ……BUT Feeling the Stress

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. and it shows on the scale

Now it’s not all bad news. The weight that I’ve lost is still lost but I seem to have plateaued again. In the last 2 days alone I’ve walked at least 12 km and I’ve put in about 4 hours of gardening (mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, trimming trees and clipping the hedge … no power gardening tools at our house).

I’ve been eating a lot of salads with a protein or stir fried vegetables and fish. I can’t remember the last time I had a cookie or ice cream and I think in the last 8 weeks I’ve had bread once (one slice) and pizza twice (2 slices) and that was weeks ago. I know that I need to hang in there and that eventually the weight will come off again.

June is always a very stressful time at school. The biggest stress for me is the writing of report cards. Once I finish those I know that I can breathe a little easier and get on with the 101 other things that need to be finished….but none of these other things stress me out as much as report cards. It didn’t help that for period of time this weekend our internet didn’t work. We had to actually go out and but a new router. It amazes me how much we depend on technology even for writing report cards.

I better finish here so that I can go back and do some more work on you know what and I need to prepare some lessons for a supply teacher tomorrow. No, I’m not calling in sick. I’m actually taking the girls’ soccer team to a semi final game and if they win they will play again to see if they move on to the city finals. Wish us luck!

P.S. If the scale moves down tomorrow morning I will post a very brief update.

Cheers

I’ve Got My New Computer

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Mama Cormier

… but now I have to figure out how to use it!

I thought I knew how to navigate around Apple computers but this new MacPro is giving me some challenges. I have an appointment on Friday at the Genius Bar. I was hoping to have my photos ready to go but I can’t transfer my data from my external hard drive into this new laptop. So unfortunately today’s post will be sans pictures.

This time of year all my non teacher friends and the parents at school ask if I’m ‘winding down’. I know that there are only 3 weeks of school left but I can’t even allow myself to think about that. I have report cards to write, report cards to proofread, correct and print, costumes to cut and sew for the year end production, Girls on the Run to train for, soccer practices, soccer tournament, grade 5 visit to next year’s middle school, biography and social studies projects to finish and mark and the year end activities to organize. I’m tired just thinking about it.

On a personal note I’m continuing to have success on the scale. I’m down 15 1/2 pounds and I’m finding that making good food choices is becoming second nature to me. I’ve had a few challenges, such as attending a retirement party, preparing snack day for the staff and buying $50. worth of chocolate for 20 gift bags that I made up as thank-you gifts for the staff. I can honestly say that I don’t feel deprived. My reward is the large number of compliments that I’ve been getting on my ‘noticeable’ weight loss.

The weather has not been great and I haven’t been as successful with getting out for my walks/runs. I’ve been wearing a pedometer and I’m only tracking 4000 to 5000 steps a day. My goal is at least 10 000.

Anyway I have to ‘run’ and proofread about 25 more report cards.

Cheers

Rain, Rain and More Rain

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…… and my computer is really sick.

Double whammy!

Never in my life have I ever seen so much rain and for so long. It’s been raining for over 15 hours and at times it looked liked a typhoon out there. I think it’s the wind that makes this day seem unbearable. Trees are down, a subway station flooded, power outages and umbrellas are useless.

It was a PA day today. The kids had the day off and I can only imagine how restless they must have been not being able to go outside. When I finally got to school I completed a lot of tasks that I can’t do when the students are around. The day was intended to get a head start on report cards but I didn’t even get close to a computer.

That brings me back to my computer. Right now I’m using my husband’s laptop but it’s just not the same. At Apple this morning I was told that it would cost a minimum of $600.00 to fix my computer. That’s not going to happen. I’ve pretty much decided that I’m buying a new one. The question is when? If I win the lottery tonight I’ll be back at the Apple store tomorrow. Wish me luck!

What lesson did I learn from this experience? …….don’t drink your morning coffee while checking your blog stats on the computer!!!!

Making a Splash!

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. yes I went to the Fun Fair!

All week my weight has slowly been creeping up but today it all came off again. I know when I lose a large amount of weight quickly it’s not always my true weight. A little too much salt, and pork products tend to make me retain water. Anyway I’m going in the right direction again and hopefully I can add another pound to my total for the week.

Early this morning I decided to attend the Fun Fair at school and I told Coach P that I was going to post pictures of her going into the dunk tank. Here they are. Enjoy!!

Jumping into the Weekend!

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Mama Cormier

Attempting to skip “double Dutch”. Not a very pretty sight. Made me laugh when I saw it.

We set record temperatures today in Toronto. It went up to 30 degrees celcius. It was also our Jump Rope for Heart day. The entire school went outside and skipped for an hour to music. As you can see from the picture I attempted to relive my youth and tried to skip some double Dutch.

For the last few years I haven’t even attempted skipping. At one of these events about 5 or 6 years ago I ran and skipped with the kids but I wasn’t wearing proper shoes and I paid for it all summer with an injured foot. Even though my participation was short lived I think I’ll try it again sometime. The feet and the knees don’t seem to be bothered.

Despite the hot weather the kids enjoyed themselves and we’ve raised awareness and money for the Heart and Stroke Association in the process. Hopefully next week the rest of the pledges will come in and I can check off one more thing that needs to be done before the end of the year.

Tomorrow is the Fun Fair at school. I usually go but this year I was going to give it a pass but a certain somebody is trying to make me feel guilty. If I go she’s going to have to let me post pictures of her going into the Dunk Tank.

Stay tuned…… do I go or not!

Mono Cliffs

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. beautiful, serene, quiet….. maybe not!

Just a quick post. I brought my computer with me to do some school work and discovered that Mono Cliffs has added WiFi to their location.

Busy day. Archery, lacrosse and orienteering were on the agenda for today. Beautiful weather and friendly staff (as always) made for a great start to our 3 day stay. Now if only I could get the boys to stop shouting (having too much fun) when they’re inside the dormitory. Early lights out last night. Ahhh…… peace and quiet.

All day hike today! That should tired them out.