Following Michael Moore

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. 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.

Michael Moore on Walking

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

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. 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.

Snow

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. it snowed again today

Story #5 for the Daily Post Writing Challenge

Snow

It snowed again today

Like icing sugar falling from the sky

it was soft, dry and cold on the skin

A new layer of pristine lacy crystals

blanketed the already greying layer of snow

that had fallen the day before

Walking was not without effort

With each step the powdery stuff reached the top of our boots

as we carved new trails into the virgin snow

The dog was in paradise

She leaped like a deer and buried her nose

in the freshly fallen mana from heaven

Once we reached the wooded area in the park

the stillness and serenity were deafening

The sounds of the city were completely muffled by the blanket of snow

It felt like we were a hundred miles from civilization

with only the birds and snow covered boughs surrounding us

For an hour we were transported to a

magical fantasy world

My only regret is that I didn’t lie in the snow and make

a snow angel

Snow in TO

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. haven’t seen this much snow in almost 2 years

View from the backyard

View from the front door, early this morning.

…..sporting his new winter hat, busily shovelling the snow.

It’s Official….winter’s here

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…..snow, grey skies, biting winds and the Santa Claus parade

I looked out my bedroom window this morning, hoping to take an interesting shot of the tree outside my window. To my horror, I discovered that the tree had been cut back so drastically by the city that all the interesting branches outside my window had all but disappeared.

A couple of months ago we called the city because the tree needed a trim. The branches were always hitting the house during wind storms and some of the branches were hanging so low that they were brushing up against the cars in the driveways on both sides of the property.

So earlier this week the crew from the city’s maintenance department showed up and did their thing. All week I’ve arrived home in the dark and in the mornings I’m always in such a hurry that I never looked up at the tree. When I finally looked out at the tree from my bedroom and could see the houses across the street I was stunned. I hope come the spring we’ll still have a nice shade canopy.

On our walk this morning the wind by the lake was biting cold and the waves were crashing onto the rocks. Frances didn’t seem to notice the cold and enjoyed the brisk walk to the park where we threw the ball over and over again to tire her out.

While we were on our walk we kept hearing the sound of sirens coming from Lakeshore Blvd. just north of us. We soon realized that we were hearing the police cars, ambulances and fire trucks that were in the Lakeshore Santa Claus parade. We extended our walk and made our way to the parade. When we got to the Lakeshore the parade was just starting to pass where we arrived. Great timing. Well at least it was for me. K and Frances didn’t stay long and headed back through the park to get home.

It’s funny that I decided to stay to watch the parade because I had just made fun of a friend at school who was so devasted that she had to miss the Bolton Santa Claus Parade that was happening today as well. A couple of us thought it was strange that a grown woman whose children were now adults still took so much pleasure from the parade. I’ll have to apologize to her when I see her on Monday.

Here are a few of the colourful sights of the parade: Enjoy!

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.

A Gift….a Beautiful Day in November

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. November 11th, Remembrance Day

As we prepared to go for our walk this morning we had no idea how beautiful a day it would be. The sun was shining and the temperature was warm. Here are a few of the sites we experienced on our walk.

I know that you may think posting a Tim Horton’s sign is odd but we’ve been waiting for months for this place to open. Being able to pick up a coffee on our early morning walks is a special treat, especially since this location is right in the middle of the college where we walk every day.

“Hurry up and finish that coffee, Carol!”

I pass this tree every day. Today was the first time I noticed what an unusual shape it has.

: A few final blooms.

Signs That Winter is Close at Hand

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. the rain finally let up for an hour or so

Plans to go to the cottage were put on hold today because my husband has done something to his arm that keeps him from lifting anything heavy. A quick visit to the clinic this morning confirmed that the pain is probably due a sudden yank on the arm that took place when K walked the dog earlier this week. Doctor’s orders …… no heavy lifting and keep the arm still. So moving the fridge and BBQ at the cottage are definitely out of the question.

While K was at the clinic I decided to get out with Frances. The rain had stopped and she was complaining loudly about not being outside. I put on my scarf and rain jacket, pocketed my camera and phone and fastened Frances into her Buddy Belt. The sky was grey, the wind chilly and my pace was quick. It became very apparent, quickly that winter isn’t far off. I documented the signs with my camera.

At the yacht club….empty boat slips.

As Frances and I walked into the wind the I could feel the odd drop of rain on my face. I had walked farther west than we normally do. I decided to abandon my plan of walking north before heading home and headed east instead. I hadn’t gone very far when I realized that I probably should have made that decision 10 minutes earlier. The drops turned into a drizzle so I started to run, walk, run. Bonus on the exercise front. Thank goodness that I wore my running shoes.

It’s a sure sign that winters coming when you see all the boats in dry dock.

By the time I got home the drizzle turned into a steady rain and shortly after getting inside it started to pour. I guess we can look forward to a few more days of this weather as hurricane Sandy makes its way up the eastern seaboard.

Even the sign looks tired.

A Word a Week Challenge – Dog

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. a new challenge

Once a week Sue, from A Word in Your Ear will dip into her old English Oxford dictionary and pick a word on the page that it falls open at. The challenge is to post a photograph, poem, story – whatever the genre you like best to describe what that word means to you.

This week’s word is ‘dog’.

This is my favourite picture of my daughter’s basset hound, Lucy.

Frances loves the water and dives to retrieve her frisbee.

Frances posing for a picture?

Colours of Autumn

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. summer left by the back door

It seems like yesterday when we were experiencing warm sunny days. I was still wearing my sandals to work and by noon sweaters and jackets were abandoned because of warm temperatures.

Today, cold winds and grey skies firmly established that summer is no more and that winter is not far behind. On our daily walk we now step over smashed walnuts and chestnuts and push through multi-coloured fallen leaves. The dog’s tail is picking up burrs and she’s finding the most disgusting things to roll in.

It’s the colours of autumn that I am enchanted with. The red of the sumac leaves against purple wild flowers and fading green to yellow grasses excites my senses and makes me want to get out my paints and play with colour washes.

Today, on our walk, I purposely looked for colours from foliage not often photographed when one thinks of autumn. The soft textures of tall grasses and milkweed pods to the spiky thorns of burrs and seed pods is like a magnet for my imagination and camera lens.

Enjoy!