Packing for Italy

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….busy cleaning up the library and last minute details for the big trip to Italy

I’ve been rather amiss with posting on a daily basis this last week. School is finally finished but I have to admit it’s been a rather stressful couple of weeks.

How stressful, you ask? Well enough to keep me from even getting this post finished. I started this post eight days ago and I’m already in Italy. We’ve been having some issues with Wifi here and I haven’t been able to get onto WordPress or Facebook until today. Presently we’re in Florence and we have a fantastic apartment but this morning we had a power failure. After a day of touring we discovered that we still didn’t have power. Luckily our landlord lives right next door and the problem was fixed with a flick of a switch from his place.

Now I have to figure out how to get my photos onto this device.

This is a shot of our granddaughter on the flight to Italy which I took with this iPad. So far she’s been a great flier.

Hopefully I can figure out how to get some more photos on here to share with you. Otherwise you will have to wait till I return in ten days.

Ciao!

School’s Out but I’m Back Next Week

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..just couldn’t finish in the library

Normally the children are finished with school one day before the teachers but this year everyone had to stay in school right up to Friday. The last day for teachers is usually a clean-up day where teachers put away as much as possible so that the care taking staff can do a thorough cleaning in the summer.

Many of us found it very difficult to get our rooms to that point and despite staying for a couple of hours after the children had left some of us need to come back next week to continue with the purging and tidying. In the library I had one extra job that needed doing this year. I’m having new carpet tiles put down and in order for the workers to move the free standing shelves and the book carousels I had to empty them all and box the books again (same job as last year). I had children in all day who tried to help me with this task and we still didn’t finish.

As I wrote earlier the last two weeks of school have been very busy and stressful. I’ve mentioned before that stress and weight gain go hand in hand for me. Not only that but all week children and parents have been bringing in chocolates, cupcakes and cookies. We had a pizza lunch with the book club, a BBQ with the grade 5s, our staff party and our principal treated us to breakfast (muffins, Danishes, bagels, croissants) all in the same week.

This morning I put myself on the scale thinking that I had gained back all the weight I had lost recently plus more. I did gain four of the five pounds that I had lost but I was relieved that it wasn’t more. Now that most of my stress has been lifted for the summer I’m hoping to get back on track and drop all the weight that I’ve gained this winter.

I started the morning with a healthy breakfast and then went for an eight kilometre bike ride. For the rest of the day I’m going do some gardening, get out for a walk and drink lots of water. I’m also hoping to get up to the cottage this weekend to open the place up and then I’ll come back to finish up in the library. With any luck I should be able to get the job done in one day.

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.

No Sleep is Catching up With Me

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….partly due to the time change

It’s been an interesting week. I’ve definitely not had enough sleep. Twice this week I’ve fallen asleep in the middle of my favourite shows. Both times I woke up during the credits of the show and I had to ask my husband how the show ended. I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore so when I do the shows are important to me. I couldn’t believe that I fell asleep before 9:00 at night. That should have been my first clue that I need more sleep.

The worst thing that happened this week is that I almost burned down my house. For some reason I decided it was a good idea to start making soup at 10:00. I set the stove on high and went downstairs to do another load of laundry. I decided to stay up and transfer the wash over to the dryer. My biggest mistake at this point was opening up my laptop to check my emails and read some of the blogs that I follow. I completely forgot about the soup.

As I started to transfer the laundry from the washing machine to the dryer my noise started to twitch. OMG! I darted up the stairs and ran into the smoke filled kitchen. I pulled the pot off the burner, opened all the windows, turned on the fan and then removed the pot from the stove and placed it on the deck. At this point the smoke detector went off. I opened the front door and the back door and more windows on the main floor.

Luckily the smoke cleared up quickly but I was surprised that my husband slept through all of this. The smell hung around for a couple of days. The next morning when my husband woke up he searched the house looking for the offending smell.

Today at work I had a melt down. When small things start to bug you, you know that there’s more to it. I’m missing my friend CR, the kids are very talkative and unfocused (too much Hallowe’en candy), the staff is under a lot of stress over their report cards, I’m trying to finish projects for the Remembrance Day assembly on Monday and I have to change up my displays in the hall.

Tonight I was able to finish my paperwork for the book fair and before I left I put up some new work from the grade five class. A step in the right direction. Tomorrow’s another day but I have to admit that thoughts of retirement entered my head today. Maybe four days without meat is affecting me. Some of my friends think that I should add some animal protein to my meals.

Cheers!

A rare Beatles video from 1968: I’m So Tired Demo

An Almost Perfect Day

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..until our guest speaker didn’t show up

Today was the day I was most stressed about. Since January I’ve been running a school wide book club, featuring children’s books written by Canadian authors. The club was open to all students in grades three to five. Initially over 80 students joined the club.

The program is called the Forest of Reading and there are books for all age groups from Kindergarten to high school and beyond. Each age category is named after a tree commonly found in Canada. The primary books are classified as Blue Spruce books, grade 3 to 6 are Silver Birch and the French books are named Tamarack and Poplar.

Every year new authors and books are featured and at the end of April students from all over Ontario vote for their favourite book in one category. There’s a big culminating event in Toronto that students are encouraged to attend to meet the authors and find out who the winners are. It’s like the Oscars of children’s books. A couple of years ago the entire school went downtown to attend this event. It was outside and it was a very cool day and because it took place right next to the lake it was even colder. There were thousands of children there and there were line-ups for everything.

Last year we decided as a staff to host our own special event with the students at our school. It was such a successful day that we wanted to do it again. Unfortunately with the political climate in all our schools this year it almost didn’t happen at all. Earlier in the school year the parents purchased the books for us and I really wanted to proceed with the program. Luckily enough teachers were willing to help out and be expert readers so the program started in earnest in January.

In order to participate in the year end celebration for the Forest of Reading the students had to read enough books to reach a goal of 10 credits. I’m happy to say that 34 boys and girls reached and surpassed the goal. One of my students read 38 books.

Today the successful participants were pulled from class and enjoyed two specially designed workshops. In one session the children worked with a professional actor and did drama activities around one of the books that was featured this year. In the second workshop they learned how to make an accordion book which they could personalize and take away with them. For lunch, we treated them to pizza, juice and popsicles.

After lunch I had arranged for one of the Forest of Reading authors to come to the school and speak to the boys and girls. We were all very excited about this special visit. Unfortunately this was the one feature of the day that did not take place. Our guest of honour had mixed up his dates and thought he was coming to the school tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m not at school so we arranged to do the presentation on Monday morning, so not all was lost.

At the end of the day my colleague and pottery teacher was excited to show me how her Father’s Day gift activity turned out. These wonderful clay trophies mounted on bits of scrap marble were created by D’s grade 1/2 class. I think they’re amazing. What Dad wouldn’t love these works of art?

We Lost in Overtime

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….heartbreaking

I knew the minute I saw the other team that this was going to be a close competition.

A few days ago I told you about my trials and tribulations when I took my girls’ soccer team to the West Conference finals. The team easily won their first game and then we had to wait an hour between games before we could play our final game. Little did we know at the time that the other team wasn’t going to show up because they had gone to the wrong location.

After waiting in the hot sun for an hour and a half I had to make a decision. Do we win by default or do we allow the missing team to make up the game in the next two days at our school? After speaking with the team we reluctantly decided to play later in the week.

Finding a time that would work for both teams proved to be difficult. I had the upper hand and basically gave them a time that worked for us. I knew that they must have been under a lot of pressure from their community because the time I gave them originally didn’t work for them and when I told them that we had run out of options (which we had) they found a solution to arrive at that time.

All of this happened late Wednesday afternoon and I then had to run around the school to inform the girls that we were playing at 9:00 in the morning the next day. Unfortunately one of our players couldn’t make it because of an appointment that couldn’t be changed on such short notice.

On the day, we had to scramble to find pinnies that were all the same colour because the boys took the jerseys to play in their West Conference game. They won, by the way, and are moving on to the City Finals. To make a long story short, we started out by scoring the first 2 goals and then they tied it up. We then scored 2 more goals and in the last minute of the game the other team tied it up again.

We had to go into overtime, two 5 minute halves and the first team to score would win the game. It was stressful and in the second half the other team put the ball into our net.

When we congratulated the other team I quietly said to the coach from the opposing team that in the future she should be careful not to miss a game again because I’m not so sure that I or any other team would be so generous, again and agree to play at a later date. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that but she became quite indignant and said that if the tables had been turned she would have definitely ‘invited’ the team to her school so that the girls could play. This is all fine and well to say when you’ve just won your game but she didn’t have to wait for an hour and a half on a shadeless field with 16 girls and a dozen parents who had made the long trip to watch their girls play and then have to inform everyone that we weren’t playing because the coach of the other team hadn’t read her emails. We had been informed about the change in venue a week before the game and there were several emails in between that went out informing all of us about the times and field locations.

In the end I explained to her how the girls had helped me make the decision to host another game so that her players had an opportunity to play. I graciously offered to make the presentation of the banner to her team because the convenors for the tournament couldn’t come to the school on such short notice. In turn she praised my girls for a game well played and thanked them for making the decision to give her team another opportunity to play.

Should I have kept my mouth closed and not said anything to this coach? I’m afraid I’m very much like my father and sometimes blurt out things before thinking it through. The only difference is that I know how to take back or apologize for my words where my father rarely does because he believes that you should be allowed to say what you want and not worry how it affects someone else. As he gets older it seems to get worse, as if age is an excuse for insensitivity.

I would welcome your thoughts on this predicament. Have you ever been put on the spot where you had to make a decision that was literally a game changer? I only wish that there was something in the regulations that deals with situations like this. We have rules for everything else, maybe we need a rule for no shows.

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!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. the full length mirror at the gym is a painful reminder that I have a way to go on my weight loss journey

I’ve lost over 30 pounds and even with a high number of social events that I’ve attended in the last three weeks, surgery, and the stress of an impending strike I’ve managed to keep the weight off. The problem is I’ve become complacent and content with my new body and friends are beginning to tell me not to lose too much more weight. They fear my face will become drawn out and I’ll start to look my age.

I have to admit that I like how I look in my clothes; I like the compliments; I’m happier and I feel good. The reality, however, is that I’m far from my ideal weight and BMI and my waist measurement needs to decrease by at least six inches to be in the heart healthy zone.

Last week I started going to the gym on a regular basis and I’ve had 4 of my 6 sessions with a personal trainer. Over the years I’ve learned how to wear clothes; accentuate the positive and hide the bad. Workout clothes, however, show all the bumps and lumps and rolls of fat and with full lengths mirrors everywhere in the gym it’s plain to see that I’m not finished with my weight loss journey.

I know that my friends are well meaning but I think that I can lose more weight without looking haggard and drawn out. The last time I lost this much weight I stopped and gradually started to gain it all back despite a promise to myself that I would never regain those 40 pounds. I gained back 37 pounds before I started on this journey again.

Why is it different this time? My approach has been more balanced. I’m not only working on making healthy food choices but I’m also moving more. I’m more concerned about my overall health and fitness level. I don’t want to go into old age with aches and pains and weight related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. I’m already noticing differences. My tendinitis in my left ankle hardly ever bothers me anymore. I used to suffer daily and had to wear orthopaedic insoles. I haven’t worn them in months. Yoga is so much easier now, although I still don’t like child’s pose. The last pair of shoes I bought were a half size smaller than I normally wear and some of my size 16 pants are starting to look a little baggy. The last time I was this weight I was still a size 18 and the jeans that I bought back then are definitely too big.

Even though the weight is the same as it was 20 years ago, my body is smaller. I have to credit my walking and running for the difference. I definitely have more muscle and as we all know muscle weighs more than fat. My weight hasn’t moved much in the last two months but people constantly comment on how much smaller I appear to be.

The mirrors in the gym have given me the incentive I need to continue on my journey.

It’s Finally Friday

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….it seemed like the longest week ever

I’m sure that the full moon had a lot to do with it. The students were unusually chatty and restless. For the first time it was a struggle to get them to finish their work. Our mayor was found guilty in a conflict of interest case by the courts and stripped of his position. The teachers’ union made work to rule official and is threatening rotating one day strikes across the province. The minister of education is trying to convince the media that the government is putting students first and that the teachers are bargaining in bad faith. City council was caught in the middle of a shouting match between the mayor, with the aid of his brother and a few councillors on issues that turned out to be non-issues. A crazy week, all in all.

So if the mayor’s appeal is denied we might be looking at a by-election and the same judge that found the mayor guilty clarified today that he could run again in the by-election. He’s convinced that he would win again but I’m not so sure and the polls aren’t in his favour at the moment.

I had my fitness test this week and signed up for 24 sessions with a personal trainer and then the next day I found out we are be in a strike position and could be walking the pavement. Yesterday I cancelled the sessions with the personal trainer until things are a little more settled at work.

Last Friday I discovered I have mice in my library office. They’re living under the sink and have been chewing through my paint mixing containers. All week I’ve been throwing away containers that have big holes in the bottom. I haven’t seen them but there’s lots of evidence that they’re around.

I started to mark some of the art projects. I have to use my time more wisely because as of December 10th we have to leave school 1/2 hour after the students leave. This will be a challenge for me and a few other teachers who regularly stay at school till 6:00 most days. After the 10th, no more field trips, sports teams, extracurricular activities, and anything that involves collecting money and administrative paperwork. I marked about 100 projects tonight. Only 320 to go.

Art classes will continue but displaying the work could prove challenging when I have to leave the building early every night. Some of the work may have to stay up longer than it would normally. Here’s what the halls look like at the moment.

Not everything was bad. At the school council meeting this week the parents put my new art cart on the top of the priority list of things to purchase. It was ordered the next day and arrived yesterday. It only has to be assembled.

On Thursday I went to the One of a Kind Show with my daughter and her partner. They made me a great dinner. I had a free pass into the show and parking was free (that’s never happened before).

The weekend looks promising. I’ll start the day with a walk with the dog, workout at the gym and then to an art show opening in the afternoon. My friend’s 91 year old father is exhibiting his work at the Moore Gallery in downtown Toronto. He is a very accomplished artist and has had many shows in his lifetime. Just a month ago he won another award for one of his pieces at the Watercolour Society.

On Sunday we may be taking a trip to the Niagara region and do some wine touring. This is what my daughter wanted for her birthday and it looks like it should be a nice day weather wise. With Christmas just around the corner and winter on our heels we need to make this trip sooner rather than later.

We had a dusting of snow today in the afternoon. By 4:15 it was already dark, partially due to the overcast sky. Of course for the next 21 days it will continue to get darker earlier in the day. How depressing but I can’t let the stress get to me.

My Fitness Assessment

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. no real surprises

Yesterday I had my fitness assessment done. I recently rejoined the gym that I had been a member of in years past. Like many people I was pretty hung ho and went pretty regularly in the beginning and then my visits were less frequent until I stopped going all together. I paid for an entire year and never stepped through the doors. What a waste of money.

So why did I return? Well I went back for a number of reasons. With the cold weather starting to invade our region I knew it would be more difficult to get in my daily walks and runs. The gym recently moved to a new location much closer to home and literally was on the way home from work.

I really have hit a plateau…at least on the scale at home. For some reason all the scales at the gym have me down another 2 pounds (fully dressed) but when I weigh myself at home (in my birthday suit) I’m five pounds heavier. Hmmmm…..?

At the fitness test I had my measurements taken for the first time since I started my weight loss journey. As of today my measurements are:

Height: 65 inches

Chest: 44 inches

Waist: 42 inches

Hips: 49 inches

Arms: 14 inches

BMI: 35

The goal at the gym is to lose my belly fat and get that waist measurement down to 36 inches and the BMI to 25. Tomorrow I’m going back for another meeting with my personal trainer. I’m hoping she will have a program designed for me. My personal goal is to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week and continue getting out for walks 2 or 3 times a week.

The assessment showed that my blood pressure and heart rate were good. My endurance levels, balance, flexibility and strength were mostly above average. She believes that I could be down another 20 pounds in the next three to four months. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of routine she’ll design for me.

On the diet side of my journey I’m trying to incorporate more foods that boost your metabolism. I start the day with juice from a lemon in warm water, take my vitamins ( B complex, C, D, calcium, magnesium and a multi-vitamin) and either have oatmeal or a two egg omelet with lots of veggies. Lunch is usually homemade soup or a large salad with some kind of protein and dinner is either homemade vegetable soup (Dr. Furman) and a large salad or chicken or fish and salad or stir fried or roasted vegetables. For a snack I try to eat raw vegetables and humus, or raw almonds and a couple of dates or a small amount of cheese and 6 to 10 gluten free crackers. I allow myself a glass of wine once or twice a week and try to drink more tea.

One thing I still need to work on is getting to bed earlier. It’s almost 1:00 am. So on that note I bid you Good Night.