…. I enjoyed looking for yellow shots
For more up and coming challenges for January check out http://nolagirlatheart.wordpress.com
January 2013 Photo a Day – Yellow
3
Tag Archives: challenges
Following Michael Moore
….. walking every night
In an earlier post I promised I would bring you an update on my weight loss journey. Here it is.
I won’t lie and say I was perfect over the holidays. I wasn’t. Far from it but I did manage to maintain my weight loss for most of the month. I say most because my baby sister came for a visit the weekend before I had to go back to work and there was wine and eating out involved. I made pretty healthy choices but I probably ate more than I should have and even though we did a lot of walking, it’s not the same as a good workout at the gym or brisk walk/run through the neighbourhood.
Also that old nemesis, STRESS, has come back to haunt me. As teachers, we didn’t get very good news in the new year and our labour dispute continues. Therefore going back to work brings with it uncertainty and potential conflict.
Consequently when I got on the scale Monday morning I was up 4 1/2 pounds. Now I know that some of that was water and sure enough I was down 2 pounds the next morning.
So I’m back on my low GI eating program but the biggest change I made this week was going out every night for a long walk with my husband. Usually when I get home from work it is already dark and I don’t like walking by myself. K told me about Michael Moore’s walking challenge and how he’s been doing it now for over 42 weeks. I’ve started following him on Facebook and I’m sharing his article on why he walks. I don’t always agree with everything he says but he clearly states what some of the benefits of walking have done for him. He doesn’t share his weight loss in this article because he says that it’s not about that but in a later post he reveals that he’s lost 60 pounds.
Last Sunday I promised on this blog that I would make it to the gym on Monday. There were a few hiccups that day and things didn’t go as I had planned. After completing an unexpected task I started on my way home. It was late and it would have been so easy to not to go to the gym. I was about to pass it when I told myself that ‘no, I had to go’. I went in and did 30 minutes on the treadmill.
On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, K and I went for 45 minute brisk walks. On Wednesday I did a 75 minute yoga class and then went to book club. Today K had an appointment out of town so he got up early and walked without me or the dog. Frances is so tired from yesterday’s two walks that she’s still sleeping. It’s time to get her and me out into the fresh air. After that I’m planning on going back to the gym and do some weight training.
By the way, when I got on the scale this morning it showed that I had lost all the weight I had gained plus and an extra 1/2 pound.
The weight loss journey continues. Stayed tuned for future updates.
Cheers!
January 2013 Photo a Day – Water
….. I live by water all year round
Surf on Georgian Bay.
Rocks on the water in Georgian Bay.
Frances in the Georgian Bay surf.
A must see for visitors – Niagara Falls
Geese on Lake Ontario, by Samuel Smith Park
Grade 5 year end activity day at a local community pool.
For more water photos check out Jeanne’s blog…a nola girl at heart.
January Photo a Day 2013: Something beginning with T
…. tomatoes, teasels, turkey and toadstools
Tomato with a nose.
Teasel
Canadian Thanksgiving: Deep frying the turkey.
Toadstool
Check out other photos of ‘things that start with T’ at Jeanne’s blog…a nola girl at heart.
January 2013 Photo a Day – Street
….. views of my street, neighbourhood and city during different seasons
It was my first day back to work since the holidays and by the time I got home it was already dark. Consequently I wasn’t able to take new photos for today’s theme. Luckily I have a pretty large file of photos. Some of them were taken from my bedroom window at different times of the year and others from the front door and one from the car window.
Spring
The street below looking through the blossoms of the crab apple tree.
Summer
The CN Tower while driving along the Gardner Expressway.
Pedestrian bridge at the mouth of the Humber River
Autumn
View of the street below through the autumn leaves.
The gravel road we take on our daily walks.
Winter
The view from our front door after our first big snowfall this winter.
Walking the dog. On our way home.
To see more amazing photos following this challenge go to Jeanne’s blog….a nola girl at heart.
January 2013 Photo a Day Challenge – Mine
….. I found this subject particularly challenging
My whole life growing up I heard my mother and father say that what’s mine is yours. When I married, my husband and I had a similar philosophy but I did notice that he (my husband) did have some things that he considered exclusively his. As I got older I realized that if anything happened to my husband I could be in trouble because I owned nothing in my own name. We bought the house together, our cars were in both names, the insurance was in his name, and all the credit cards were in his name. I had no line of credit to speak of and if I needed to get my own car insurance I wouldn’t be insurable because I’ve never had my own.
All that has changed. I have my own line of credit, my own credit cards and my car is in my name. Apart from photographing my credit cards, I wasn’t sure what else I could take pictures of that were exclusively mine. My husband of 37 years? After thinking long and hard I decided to share some of my art with you. It’s what I love to do. I am very much an amateur but my students consider me an artist. Enjoy!
Abstract monoprint 5×7
Opposites Attract – mixed media, on paper, 16 x 20
If you want to take part in this challenge check out Jeanne’s blog….a nola girl at heart.
To Do List for January 6, 2013
….. if I write it down maybe it’ll happen
To Do What I Actually Did
1. Go for a 30 minute walk with the dog – Walked for 45 minutes 2. Continue to clean and de-clutter my room – Cleaned out my sewing box 3. Go to Ikea and buy new book cases – Bought the cases plus new bench 4. Go the the gym – DIDN’T GET THERE TODAY 5. Read my book for book club – Read 55 pages 6. Take down the Christmas tree – Took down the tree
Tree sans ornaments
7. Call my aunt and thank her for the plant – called at 7:00 8. Clean the kitchen – ongoing 9. Put away the ornaments – still on the coffee table 10. Clear off old bookcase to make way for the new – Done
Empty bookcase
11. Decide on lesson for tomorrow’s class – decided on one point perspective 12. Check my emails and reply to comments – Done 13. Finish this post – Finished at 8:00, just in time to
watch the Biggest Loser, new season – I’m addicted!
Not bad for one day. I need to try to work on my room every day for 30 minutes and when I get home tomorrow I should tackle the ornaments right away. Back to the gym tomorrow…. don’t go home first …. go straight to the gym from work! IT WILL HAPPEN!
CHEERS!
A Word a Week Photo Challenge – Clouds
…..whether it be cirrus, stratus or cumulus, clouds make great subjects for photographs
For more photos of clouds check out Sue Llewellyn’s blog A Word in Your Ear.
The View From Here
…. day 4 of the 2013 January Photo a Day Challenge
Today’s challenge was to take a picture of wherever you happen to be, today. On our daily walk I decided to experiment with the panoramic setting on my new camera. I braved the cold and the wind to get these shots. Unfortunately it was very grey today and the city in the distance is barely noticeable.
Panoramic view of Toronto. This is what I see when I walk to the park 100 feet from my house and face east.
This is the view at the bottom of my street, looking south towards Lake Ontario.
I love looking toward the city. I’ve often thought that I should take pictures every day so that I can document how the view changes with the different seasons and weather conditions. The view at night is stunning.
If you want to take part in the challenge go to Jeanne’s blog…nola girl at heart.
A Good Start to the New Year
…. I finally got around to continuing with the clean-up and reorganization of my bedroom
In the summer I posted pictures of my messy room and then thoroughly cleaned and reorganized one half of it. It was this half that I took ‘after’ pictures of. I had good intentions of getting to the other half before I returned to work in September but there was always something better or more pressing to do. I also spent a great deal of the summer at the cottage so ‘out of sight, out of mind’ as the saying goes.
The ‘after’ picture back in July.
Unfortunately once I was back at work there really were more pressing things to do, like keeping up with this blog and preparing lessons. As Christmas approached, my room became the dumping ground, once again, when we needed to quickly find a place to put things when guests were coming. My room also became a safe place for gifts and it turns into wrapping central.
As a result, my goal to tidy and reorganize my room was put on the back burner and as a result all the good work I had done in the summer was no longer evident. I had to start all over again.
Hard imagine that it actually got worse than this.
It’s not finished but I am feeling better about my accomplishment so far. The Christmas wrapping paper and ribbon are organized and ready to go back into the basement to be stored until the next festive season, 11 months from now. When shuffling through my stacks of paper I found a Christmas gift that I forgotten to wrap and give to my friend, L, and I found my lost ownership papers for my car. Bonus!
I started to reorganize all my crafting and painting supplies that I know I will use. The challenge will be going through bins of supplies that I haven’t used in years and pack them up and get them out of the house. When I finish here I will be returning to my room to tackle more unfinished business. Maybe I can get in a picture or two of my ‘new space’. Don’t hold your breath.
I’ll bring you up to date tomorrow on my progress.
Cheers!
Mama Cormier 