October blues

What happened to the summer?

I think we spent all summer working in the backyard and failed to relax this year. Thankfully, we did manage to accomplish great things at the house, and hopefully we will be able to enjoy our hard work through the winter and next year. The house still has more boxes lying around than I would like, but I hope in the next month we will be able to deal with those so we can enjoy all of the space we have and not be overwhelmed by cardboard.

This may be my last post on this blog. After discussion with my husband, I will be moving my thoughts over to our website www.aaronandregan.ca. I invite you to come and visit - please feel free to request an account if you don't have one so you may respond to my many wonderous thoughts. Unfortunately, we cannot open comments up to the general population due to random spammers that tried to hack into our site, but we do welcome your thoughts!

I already have a post written from our last vacation - I wrote it on the plane, so just have to find my comments and post it...it is about reclining seats on airplanes and how annoying they can be...great stuff!!

Perhaps I will steal Jenny's idea of a food blog as well. I already have a great deal of my recipes on the computer and have actually been taking pictures of my creations for years - I just don't know if I will ever get around to completing my cook book as I had planned - only so many hours in the day you know ;)

Well that is all from me for now. I hope that you come join me at my new blog. I intend to be posting wedding pictures and photos of the new pup shortly.

Tata for now!
C.R.

I survived!

Last night was the first bootcamp session I attended. And I can still walk today! While it was a hard workout, I have to admit that it wasn't as hard as I feared it was going to be. And the group is very friendly and welcoming, so that is awesome!

Not much else to discuss today, just moving a bit slowly due to the workout last night.

I did pick up a collage print I had made of pictures from the wedding and it looks great! Can't wait to get the house in shape and have a house warming/open house in the not too distant future!

Talk soon,
C.R.

Motivation

Where art thou?

OK, so it's easier to say you're going to do something than actually do it. I think if I actually did all of the things that I think I want to do, my mind would be far less cluttered! I just need to find the motivation to get off of my butt and do it.

So I saw this flyer the other week for Fit Chicks...I was just driving along Kingston Rd. in the beaches and had no idea what it was for, but I decided to go home and google it. And now I'm joining Fit Chicks fitness bootcamp. Honestly, I'm a little scared. I don't have anyone joining with me, and I know it isn't going to be easy. I guess I can only hope that I make it through the first hour and then I am certain I can keep going. I have only signed up for 4 sessions (2 weeks) so far to try it out and see if I can keep up.

I really do want to look and feel better...I just need a push to get going - I hope this bootcamp is somewhat enjoyable, and being scheduled, I hope it will keep me going.

On another note, my mother at age 60 (sorry mom) is going to get inked!! Next Monday, my mother will be getting 4 tattoos!! Ok, so it's not as hip as one might think - they are relating to her breast cancer treatment. I never knew that this was required for the radiation treatment. I'm still trying to convince mom to turn the markers into something cool when her treatment is over. Perhaps a bullseye or a bumble bee with the stinger point being the dot...Mom isn't so receptive yet. But I'll keep working on it ;)

Not much else new at the moment - new puppy still bites old puppy, cats still shed, the weather sucks on weekends which makes drying my clothes on the line outside a challenge...pondering what to make for dinner this evening - need to get on track and avoid junk...I wish this was easier!

C.R.

It's been a while

Ok, so I have been a bad blogger lately, but I have an excuse - I bought a house, moved, got married, went on the honeymoon and now I'm returning.

I'm starting a new path here with this blog...it will be my journal along my journey to the new me. I have struggled with my weight loss for probably close to 20 years, and I'm reminded repeatedly that I am not very old. I used to be a skinny kid when I was little...I even slipped through the gaps in the boards on the dock when I was young. Then my thyroid died - I had gained weight before I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroditis, but the year of my diagnosis was a large gain. After that, I tended to gain about 20 pounds a year. I remember being horrified when I hit 200 lbs! I think I even lied when I started university and filled out the medical form and took 20 lbs off my actual weight. 250 was another milestone I am not proud of...

I joined weight watchers with my mother a few years ago and lost a fair amount of weight...until I got bored...and wanted chocolate and ice cream and pizza on a more regular basis. Eventually I quit because I was wasting money by going and not losing any weight - a decision that made sense at the time....and then the weight came back.

When I got engaged and bought the dress for my wedding, I was happy, figured I would try to lose a few pounds or at a minumum stay the same before the big day....I gained at least 20 pounds by Christmas....lost 20 pounds by the wedding day - again on weight watchers, but again found boredom, and laziness.

I don't know how many times a day or week I tell myself I need to change and get in better shape, and my motivation lasts through one meal...then I get bored...

Today, a friend sent me an email from her sister-in-law about her mother who needs a bone marrow transplant. I figured I would look into what is involved in donating, and came across the weight chart...I am too fat to donate!

It is funny because I look in the mirror and don't think I look that fat...I think I carry it well, but then I see a picture and realize I don't. I see other people who weigh around the same as I do, and I think they are huge! And the biggest fear I have is losing weight and having people not like me anymore. I'm the funny fat girl, and I just think if I'm not fat, maybe I'll just be annoying or obnoxious. That is hard to admit!

So today, I start again. For me. For the kids I hope to have one day. I renew my blog as my escape - to share my thoughts, fears and struggles with the random people who choose to care (I'm sure my friends and family have abandoned reading this site for some time now).

Wish me luck! This will take a long time!!!

C.R.

Not used to nice neighbours

We moved last week into the new house. I think we are still both adjusting and with time everything will either find it's place or be delivered to charity (we have a lot of boxes still to open!).

After 5.5 years of living next to the people we did, I think I have come to expect the worst from people, but so far, our new neighbours have only been nice!

Last evening when we returned from work, I noticed that our recycling and compost bins were no longer at the end of the driveway where we had left them for collection. Immediately I thought some person had taken off with them. After my second or third attempt backing into the driveway, ensuring that I was in fact on our side, yet not in the snow bank, I noticed that the recycling and compost bins had been brought up and delivered to the side of the house. How nice is that?!?! And the other day, our neighbour had actually shovelled off our front porch and steps before we arrived home. I only hope that we are worthy neighbours of such kindness! It is still a little weird to be treated this way, but I think it's nice!

C.R.
p.s. 99 days to the wedding AND we won a honeymoon!! I'm excited!!!!!

We're Moving!!

24 more days to go and Aaron and I will be living in our cute little home!

So much to do, so much thinking....I can't wait, but at the same time, I'm scared poop-less!

One day I'll post more about the new place. I sure can't wait to be rid of the obnoxious neighbours though. Though, everyone else on the street is pretty nice, so that is sad. And we're moving away from Cali's sister...maybe we'll have to set up puppy play dates for them to frolic.

Stay well,
C.R.

I love my neighbours

Anyone who reads my blog will know I love my neighbours and you'll also know that my words are dripping with sarcasm.

The snow is gone and there have been few issues as of late, but today I'm just perplexed. There is a hydro pole on our front lawn to which the loving people next door have decided that it is acceptable for them to affix a very large yellow ribbon cut-out for "support our troops". Apparently the 10 that they have on each of their cars is not enough to get the point across. My concern is that the pole is on our property and now they have taken it upon themselves to label our property. Not only have they attached this ugly item to the utility pole, but they have tied it up there with yellow rope making it look like an even larger eye sore. Being a public utility pole, I'm not sure what if any recourse I have for removing this item, but it upsets me greatly that they can't post it on their own property. I seriously believe that they think they can do as they wish with our property, be it walk across the lawn, park in front of the house constantly, spit on the lawn, or dispose of their cigarette butts and assorted trash in my garden. I think for the time being that it is probably best to leave it and be quiet, but it must come down before this house goes up for sale - they are difficult enough to deal with and I fear their presence could delay the sale of this house, but to have such an eyesore present will not help either. I'm off now to investigate the restrictions for posting items on utility poles and also to pray that some kid tears it down or the darn thing gets hit by lightening!

C.R.