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!

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

Time to Celebrate

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. so many things to be thankful for, but the best is that “there are no more cancer cells to kill” according to K’s doctor.

The day started off with a 1/2 pound weight loss on the scale and I can now say I’m officially down 13 pounds. Not as much as I had hoped for but I’ll take it.

I took the day off work to be with K for his first day of chemo in this last round. He rode his bike to the hospital and I drove to school to drop off a few things that needed to be dealt with today. When I got to the hospital my husband had already had his blood work done and the doctor decided to wait for me before she shared the good news.

All K’s organs are normal again, the lymph nodes have shrunk significantly and there are only a few small nodules here and there that don’t seem be a concern. We couldn’t believe it when she told us that this would be the last round because there were no more cancer cells to kill.

Apparently there is no permanent cure for CLL but K’s quality of life should be significantly better for some time to come. After this round it will take him about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks to feel better. We are over the moon with joy. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I didn’t get out for a walk this morning with Frances but I did go for a long one after dinner tonight. I love the route we take and I brought my camera to share with you what we see on our walks. These are 2 more things that I’m thankful for: being able to walk 5 to 6 km and love it and for living in one of the most beautiful areas in Toronto.

Life is good! Enjoy every minute of it.

Plateauing

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Mama Cormier

… is there such a word?

I’ve been up and down all week and I’m feeling like I’ve hit a plateau. I’m sure that a lot of it has to do with that “stress” thing I’ve written about in the past but I’m not going to let it get me down.

Tomorrow I’ll be doing a lot of sitting as I keep K company during his final chemo round. I’ll probably read and maybe even mark school assignments when he sleeps. When we get home I’ll make sure that I take Frances out for an extra long walk and maybe if I get up early enough I can take her out in the morning as well.

Yesterday I made a wonderful low GI chicken bake with salsa. I regret that I didn’t take pictures of it before we consumed it but I have leftovers and I’ll be sure to post pictures and the recipe sometime this week. I served it with a dhal that I made from scratch and it was delicious as well. I’m wondering if the legumes played havoc with my weight loss totals this week. Beans don’t always fit into the low GI category. Oh well, no point in crying over spilt milk. What’s done is done. Moving on……

Cheers

A New Week With Many Challenges

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. bigger class, EQAO testing, report cards, more soccer practices, Girls on the Run, and K’s last round of chemo

I’ve probably forgot some things but I have to take one day at a time and one task at a time. Of course on top of all of this I’m trying to to get through the curriculum and I’ve assigned more projects to keep the kids engaged.

Today was a good activity and food day. I started the morning off with a nice walk/run with K and Frances. About 3 km. I spent about 3 hours working in the garden, cutting grass, trimming the edges, pulling weeds from the brick work on the patio and washing down the deck. We have birds nesting in our tree and our neighbour’s bird feeders attrack pigeons, so we have a lot of “fall out”, so to speak, to clean up.

Later in the afternoon I did a little bit of shopping and then I went to a “NOT a book launch” party. Unfortunately the word NOT did not come up in conversation when I was told about it and I expected to go there and buy a book. I stayed away from the usual party food and nibbled on some turkey and vegetables. No wine, chips, nachos, spring rolls, etc.. Feels good to be in control.

Till tomorrow!

Feeling Better About Myself

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. all the compliments don’t hurt either!

Today was photo day for the grade five students that will be leaving us at the end of June. Traditionally the girls get all dressed up and the boys not so much (but there’s always one or two who wear a suit). This year I decided to wear a dress that I had bought at the end of last summer. I don’t very often wear dresses but I thought I should go the extra mile this year.

When I got to school I had a lot of compliments about how good I looked and some of my friends even noticed that the dress was a little bit too big. I’ve only worn it one other time. I think I’ll invest in getting it altered but I’m going to wait until I lose some more weight.

It’s interesting that I didn’t say “if I lose some more weight”. The difference on this weight loss journey is that there’s no question in my mind about my success. I am going to lose more weight.

After school the girls in Girls on the Run had their first 5 km run. I was worried about the heat today but everyone of them did it. As a coach I can’t always run with the girls because one of us has to stay behind and make sure all the girls drink their water and keep moving. Today we took turns running with the girls. I’m pleased to announce that I actually ran today and walked/ran at least 2 km.

I know that I can walk 5 km pretty easily. My goal is to run a little farther everyday until I’m running 50% of the time. I have 3 weeks and 3 days before our 5 km race to reach my goal, barring any more injuries.

Cheers!

No Pain Today

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. first day without pain and only 6 days before the next round of chemo.

When I came home tonight I knew something was different about my husband. He had a glass of wine in his hand and he was actually in a good mood. He was celebrating the fact that he felt no pain today.

We had a very pleasant conversation at dinner and he wanted to come for a walk with Frances and me. We didn’t go as far as I would normally but 2 km is better than none.

Tomorrow, at school, The Girls on the Run are going to do their first 5 km without stopping. I’m not sure if I’ll do the whole thing but I think I’m ready to start running for part of it. Wish me luck. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

4.6 km Walk

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. Frances wouldn’t go any farther

I shouldn’t blame the dog for not wanting to carry on but she was pulling in the wrong direction and frequently put on the brakes.

It felt good to get in a long walk today. So far the knee feels good. I really thought I had done at least 5 km but according to gmap-pedometer it was only 4.6 km. I’ve posted the map.

gmap-pedometer.com

The Long Weekend is Finally Here

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. but I’m too tired to enjoy it.

What a crazy week! Three days at Mono Cliffs with 56 grade 5 students, an all day soccer tournament (the girls won), Girls on the Run, and an all day library/computer workshop. I’m falling asleep over my laptop again.

I never get home before 6:00 from work but today, because my workshop was only 5 minutes from my house I was home before 4:30. I avoided all the sweets and crackers that were being offered during our breaks but when I got home I was famished. Luckily there was some homemade leftover vegetable soup in the fridge and I warmed up a cup to tide me over till dinner.

I should get out and go for a walk before dinner but I think I need a nap.

I don’t have any big plans for the weekend other than going to the AGO on Sunday and seeing the Picasso show. It looks like it’s going to be a good weekend to get some gardening done and I think a trip to the Farmers’ Market is in order as well.

I seem to be avoiding the topic of walking/running. Maybe I’ll be in a better state of mind after I take that nap.

Sweet Dreams!