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!

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.

Update on my Weight and Fitness Level

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….I’m feeling good about my current status

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about my weight loss journey. It’s been 7 months since I started on this journey. In the beginning the weight came off quickly and the visible results were amazing. I reached my first goal of 30 pounds after 4 months.

The Benefits of Losing Weight

I felt great. I liked how I looked. It was wonderful buying new clothes and wearing size 16 pants for the first time in over 20 years. My blood pressure is back to normal levels and I’m able to run without feeling pain or gasping for air. I used to hate running and now I look forward to doing more and improving my time and overall distance.

My Love Affair With Food

I still enjoy food and eating but now I eat to nourish my body and I don’t constantly think about my next meal. I no longer feel deprived or crave sweets and junk food. On special occasions I’ll allow myself a very small serving of dessert or I might have a bite of something just to taste. It seems to satisfy me. I might enjoy a glass of wine once a week. Before the journey I’d regularly drink 2 glasses 3 or 4 times a week.

How Stress Affects Me

When I started back to work in September I was really worried about gaining some of my weight back. Years ago a naturopathic doctor assessed that I was very much affected by stress in my life. I could gain 2 to 5 pounds over a weekend when I was confronted with a stressful situation or if I anticipated a stressful occurrence. For years I would take weight off in the summer (no stress) and when I went back to work in September the weight would come back in the first two weeks.

This year I worked hard not to gain weight when I went back to work. Not gaining weight was as big a success as actually losing weight. It’s been an extremely stressful start this year. With the negative political climate for teachers in Ontario, weeding the library, running a book fair for the first time, organizing art on a cart and living through a district review and having surgery, it really is quite an accomplishment that I didn’t gain some of the weight back.

Despite everything I still managed to lose some more weight. It’s been a slow process compared to the beginning of the journey but I’m not discouraged. That’s another change that I’ve experienced. I don’t turn to food when things go wrong or don’t go exactly as planned. If I fall off the wagon I don’t wait till Monday to start eating properly again. I fix the problem with the very next meal.

Becoming Vegetarian 80% of the Time

I enjoy eating healthy foods. In the last two weeks I’ve eaten mostly vegan meals. If someone had told me in April that I would almost be a vegetarian I would have scoffed at the idea. I’ve always needed my animal protein but my husband has been experimenting with more and more vegan meals. I think eating this way has actually kick started my weight loss again.

Joining a Gym

I joined a gym this month and started working out this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday I started the day with our traditional walk through the college grounds with Frances and then in the afternoon I went to the gym and ran/walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes and then the elliptical machine for another 10 minutes. Next weekend I’m going for a fitness assessment and the trainer will design a program for me. I’m looking forward to this new part of my fitness journey.

How Much Weight Have I Lost?

While at the gym I weighed myself and according to their scales I’m down another 2 pounds for a total of 36 pounds. I’m 4 pounds away from losing 40 pounds in total. I’m very excited about how close I am. There are going to be challenges this week. I’m definitely going back to the gym tomorrow and I have yoga on Wednesday. For the rest of the week I have a number of social commitments but I’m pretty confident that I can handle it.

Reaching My Next Goal

I’m hoping that I can reach my 40 pound goal by the end of the month and then set the next of goal of 50 pounds in total. I say next because I know that the journey will continue. I don’t know for how long. I’m taking it one step at a time. I’m hoping that at some point in this journey I’ll be able to share my actual weight. I’m still not ready to do that but I have a number in mind and I’m getting close. Life is good!

Cheers

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.

Gaining Weight After Surgery?

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. sometimes I feel like my body enjoys tormenting me

I was very excited about my progress in the weight loss department. It seemed like I was finally moving in a positive direction again. The morning of my surgery I was down another 2 pounds for a total of 34 pounds. I actually thought I’d be down another pound or two after the surgery. Ha!

Wednesday morning I wasn’t allowed anything to eat or drink before being admitted to the hospital. The first food or drink that I had was about 5:00 that afternoon. I figured that I took in 800 calories for the whole day. Thursday morning I was up 2 pounds. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m the only person I know that gains weight when prepping for a colonoscopy.

I took it easy on Thursday. I had oatmeal and berries for breakfast, 2 slices of pizza and salad for lunch and for dinner I made spaghetti squash and a vegetable stew. The next day I was up another 2 1/2 pounds.

On Friday I picked up my activity level and walked 5k and continued to eat sensibly. Still up 4 1/2 pounds this morning. Oh my! What would any sensible person do? Why shop of course. That’s what I do when I’m feeling somewhat down.

First I went and had my hair cut. Great start. Then I discovered that a new Marshall’s opened up around the corner from my hairdresser’s salon. There’s nothing like retail therapy when you’re down because of your weight. The good thing about it was that trying on clothes wasn’t a chore but was actually fun. Not buying clothes from the Plus section is a huge boost for my ego. I’m actually trying on dresses these days and like how I look in them.

When I got home tonight I finally took 3 garbage bags of my ‘fat’ clothes to the Goodwill. There’s no going back now. I can’t afford it.

I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine with my fitness journey. It looks like tomorrow will be a nice day. Frances, K and I will start the day with a nice long walk and later in the afternoon the huge piles of leaves on my front lawn will be bagged and put on the curb. Today K took a great picture of the fallen leaves on the trail where we walk Frances.

Most of the leaves are down.

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.

My Son is Home for a Visit

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. and it was a great running and walking day

Last night we picked up our son from the train station. Well actually, we parked the car and waited for him in a pub near by. Union Station in downtown Toronto is currently undergoing renovation and it’s difficult to find a place to park and pick up people from the train station at the best of times.

Our son, B, has been living and working in the Netherlands for the last 9 months. He had an opportunity to attend a conference of sorts in Montreal for 3 days and he decided to extend his stay for an extra 4 days and come to Toronto to reconnect with family, friends and business associates.

I’ve really missed B and it’s great seeing him again, even if it is only for a short time. While he was sharing his plans for the next year or so I found myself feeling a little melancholy. His plans of course didn’t involve moving back to Canada anytime soon. When the plate of fries arrived at our table I found myself indulging way more than I had planned. Usually I’m satisfied with a taste or two and then I can stop. Last night I probably ate as many fries as my husband and my son. That darn emotional eating…. it got the better of me last night. Those were the first fries I’ve had in over 6 months and they weren’t that good.

Today was a new day and I was determined to have a better food day. It was also the cross country city finals for all elementary schools in Toronto today. We had 33 students who qualified to go the city finals. It was my job to walk back and forth from the start line to the finish line for each race and take pictures and keep track of where the students finished. I did this for 5 races and walked over 6000 steps (according to my pedometer) before I had to return to school.

The ‘bunny’ that lead the kids through the cross country trail.

The students did really well. One of our grade 2 boys placed first, one grade five boy placed second and two of our grade 3 girls placed 4th and 8th.

Tonight I left work a little bit earlier than I normally do. When I got home my husband wasn’t back from a business meeting north of the city and it was still daylight so I decided to take Frances for a long walk. We started off on our normal route but I added a few extensions along the way. When we were about 3/4 of the way home it started to rain so I ran the last 1k. A year ago this wouldn’t have been possible. Today it felt perfectly normal and it didn’t hurt or leave me breathless.

I checked the distance on the computer when I got home. On top of the 6700 steps I had walked earlier in the day, our walk added another 4k. It felt pretty good even though I did get wet. I made a great salad for dinner and now I feel rejuvenated. So all in all it was a great running day for the kids and a great walking and running day for me. I need to do this more often.

Cheers!

Finally Changed the Batteries

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Mama Cormier

… and I’m glad I did

As soon as you eat something that you don’t normally eat when you’re trying to lose weight you start to second guess how it’s going to be reflected on the scales. I’ve even had visions of gaining back all my weight because of one or two indiscretions. Silly, right? But those thoughts do go through your head and reason goes out the window.

The good news is that I’ve actually dropped another two pounds for a total of 32 pounds. It’s been a long time coming for these two pounds but the scale is going in the right direction. It also gives me more confidence knowing that the odd small cookie or slice of bread isn’t going to keep the weight from coming off. It may just take longer. It’s a choice I have to make.

Now that the weather is getting colder and the days are shorter I find it more difficult to get out and get in my walks and runs during the week. I’ll figure it out. If I can convince my husband to walk with me after dinner I wouldn’t mind walking when it gets dark.

I’ll continue to go to my yoga class. I might try Bikram yoga again. Now that I’ve lost so much weight I think I might be able to do some of the moves that I found impossible 32 pounds ago.

This would be one of the moves.

Walking, Junction Farmers’ Market and More Canning

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. one by one farmers’ markets are shutting down for the season

The day started with the a cool breeze and sunshine. My husband and I decided to check out the farmers’ market in the Junction. We had never been there and it would be our only opportunity to pay it a visit. The market was due to close later today.

As soon as Frances saw us preparing to leave she assumed we were going for our usual walk. We couldn’t disappoint her so we bundled up and fastened her into her Buddy belt. We ended up doing the usual route and gave her a good workout before heading back to the house. By the time we returned we decided that our plan to bike to the market wasn’t doable because the market was only open for another hour and a half.

So we took the car. The day progressively became cloudier and cooler. Parking in the Junction wasn’t a problem but we did have to ask someone where the market was located. Luckily we were close.

Caught on camera at the Junction Farmers’ Market

The market proved to be interesting. It wasn’t huge but it had some interesting vendors. We bought spinach, pears, vegetarian samosas, pepper jelly, radish relish, humus and homemade crackers.

We walked back to the car and unloaded our purchases and then walked to The Bean Cafe. We enjoyed a couple of cappuccinos and I must admit we each enjoyed a vegan oatmeal pumpkin cookie. (picture below)

On our way home we picked up our daughter, G, who needed to do some work at our house. She told us about the pumpkin butter she had made and it inspired me to do something with the leftover squash I had cooked last weekend.

K quickly found a recipe on line for squash butter. Actually there are quite a few. The one I chose is pretty close to the one my daughter used, the exception being that it called for any winter squash. Now when my sister brought me the squash she had no idea what the variety was. She called it horse squash because it grew in the horse pasture on their farm.

After researching the different varieties of winter squash I’ve decided that the squash my sister gifted me was a kabocha squash.

Here’s the link for the recipe that I altered slightly.

Maple Squash Butter

Kabocha Squash Maple Butter

6 cups of cooked squash (any type works but the orange varieties have a nicer colour)

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2 tsp. vanilla

juice from 1 lemon

zest from the lemon

1. Puree the squash with an immersion blender.

2. Place it in a large pot and add the remaining ingredients.

3. Cook it for 20 minutes, stirring often, or until it reaches the consistency you like.

4. Taste and add more sweetner (syrup, sugar or brown sugar) if you like it sweeter.

5. Place in sterilized jars and seal. I didn’t put this in a waterbath. These jars will need to be refrigerated and used up within 3 weeks or you can freeze them.

My finished product isn’t very pretty. When you add the spices to the light yellow flesh of the kabocha squash it turns a pea soup greenish colour. Squashes with an orange flesh might be more appealing but then my husband said that pumpkin pie isn’t exactly ‘pretty’ either. However, it has a wonder flavour and would be great on toast and we dipped apple slices into it. Yummy!