Our Little Monster...

Blog Posts Two Days in a Row!

I'm so freakin' mad at myself today. And now I'm going to try to convince myself that I shouldn't be.

Fantasy: Get up at 6am this morning to go downstairs and use my new treadmill for the very first time. This would give me lots of time for my run (which will be short, since it's been a while), and some crunches. And I'd feel great about the fact that I got in a great little workout before work. And I'd make coffee before getting the dog and DBF up for their day!

Reality: Alarm went off at 6am as expected. I gave some thought to getting up and going downstairs. I really did. However, being snuggled in bed so nicely was very appealing, so that is where I stayed. I get up at 7.15am feeling quite disappointed in myself.

Now, here's why I shouldn't be kicking myself quite so much about this: I NEVER get up at 6am to run, nor have I ever before! Even when I was running regularly, I usually ran in the evening, except on Sunday mornings.

Bottom line: I DO need to start my running routine again. I DO NOT need to get up at 6am to do so.

Having said that, I will try to get up at 6am again tomorrow... LOL

It's Been Almost a Month Since My Last Post - Inexcusable! Tsk, tsk Teed...

Wow, that's a long time not to post! My apologies to anyone who may still be checking to see if I've posted... :-S

This new pup and work have pretty much taken over any spare time I thought I had! I can't believe how much work Samson has proven to be, but he is starting to shape up to be a good little guy. I just wish he was through the biting stage - my hands have little cuts and nicks all over them!

Tomorrow night is week 4 of 6 of our puppy manners class. Samson's catching on quite well - he now knows the "sit", "stay", and "down" commands pretty well. We're still working on "leave it" and walking well on the leash, although he's definitely getting better. We're going to try to arrive at class pretty early tomorrow night, because if we get there just a few minutes before class starts he nearly chokes himself trying to get to all the other puppies in the room. I'm hoping we'll have time to get lots of puppy introductions done before the start of class tomorrow night.

On the weight loss front, I have cancelled my WW online account and don't miss it at all. I hadn't been using it to it's full potential anyway, since I went back to Sparkpeople. I'm actually much happier using their system. I'm still accountable for what I eat, and it's free to use. And I find it much more forgiving than the WW program. Not that I'm saying WW doesn't work, because I'm living proof that it does! I'm just saying that for now I'm happier tracking my progress with Sparkpeople instead. And Sparkpeople really caters to the geek in me, since it tracks every little element of my diet and helps me analyze it. I love that stuff!

We also bought a treadmill on the weekend, although I have yet to try it out. That's this evening's goal, although I'm not sure if I'll find the time since Steve's working late tonight and I think I have to come back into the office too. I'll bring the pup with me and we'll try to fit in a walk so he's not so high strung while I'm working.

Tonight's supper (although late) is one of my favourites - a burger and LF fries! I love those nights!

Missing: One Heart, In Good Working Order, Stolen on Saturday

Had my heart stolen on Saturday, by this little mini muffin! Now I'm not sure if life will ever be the same... He's a boston terrier jack russell mix. We've decided to name him Samson.

I'm Back!

Sorry I haven't posted lately, but things are just SO busy. As I'm sure some of you know, I spent a week in Mississauga recently for work, and had been spending a lot of time at the hospital with my grandma. I'm happy to say that grandma is back home and doing very well.

I am no longer counting points. I am trying now to maintain my weight on my own, by making healthy choices. Things have been going very well with it. I've also been trying to eliminate any foods from my diet that contain any bad chemicals, so I've been eating lots of good fresh foods, and a lot of homemade goods. I'm loving all of the healthy baking I'm doing, and all of the foods I've incorporated back into my diet in order to eliminate aspartame and preservatives.

I've also become a squash and sweet potato addict... is there a program out there for that?

I'm trying to limit my caloric intake to roughly the recommended daily intake of 2000 calories. It's actually not hard at all, even with my use of natural sweeteners now instead of using products containing aspartame. I think the natural foods are doing a great job of keeping me full, and I find myself eating lots of small snacks now instead of my three square meals. With me eating so much throughout the day, I definitely don't feel deprived, and it keeps my metabolism going!

Apple Pie Deliciousness

Here it is ladies and gentlemen... the most gorgeous apple pie creation to ever come out of my kitchen. We just stuck it in the oven a few minutes ago, but I couldn't resist taking a pic before we put it in, just in case it bakes up funny or something... Will post pics of finished deliciousness later... MMMM....

Eating Clean

It was not a good weekend for me. My grandmother is very sick and I spent the majority of my weekend at the hospital with family. We thought she had taken a turn for the worse on Saturday, but yesterday she had a good day, and today we have gotten even more encouraging news with regards to her condition.

Needless to say though, healthy eating and exercise were non-existent for me. Today is a better day though. I had some yogurt, kashi, and oatmeal for breakfast, and a nice greek salad and a banana for lunch - very satisfying and delicious.

I've recently become intrigued by the whole "eating clean" theory and I'm really going to try it out. To lose my weight on WW, I will admit that I relied a lot on chemical replacements for sugar and other natural foods. I am going to start to make changes so that I am not eating these chemicals anymore. The first changes I'm going to make are to start having real sugar in my coffee again as opposed to Splenda or some other sweetener, and to stop drinking diet pop. I'm trying to find a natural alternative to drinking pop, and I think what I'm going to do is just replace it with natural iced tea. Both DBF and I have decided this would be a good change for both of us, so I'm going to try to make my first brew tonight to see how we like it. I love iced tea, but I'll admit that I've never made it naturally and I'm looking forward to trying it. I'll let ya'll know how it goes...

Recipe Review - Isn't She Loafly?

Isn't She Loafly? - from Crazy Plates

Haven't tried it yet, but it looks delicious. I couldn't resist taking a picture of it to post.

Found a new blog today. This girl posts beautiful pictures of all of her recipes - I think I'm going to start doing that too. Hence, picture #1...

Wow, I can't believe it...

I forgot to weigh in this morning! I can't freakin' believe it! Me, the girl obsessed with the numbers (now formerly-obsessed) forgot to weigh myself this morning! Yay for me! That's a huge deal!

Sparkpeople and I are getting along fabulously. It's so much more forgiving than the Weight Watchers program, but it still works. And I pay attention to a lot more things than just calories when I use it. I track all of my nutrients and vitamins, so I can tell when I've had too much sodium, not enough fibre, B-vitamins, or whatever. It's great. Yay Sparkpeople!

So Far, the Same

Well things have gone well since I decided I'd stop counting points. I didn't exactly quit cold turkey though, and I've gotten back on the Sparkpeople train. I love that program too, and it also works. I also find that it is much more forgiving than Weight Watchers, or so it leads you to believe. I think by the end of the week though, both programs work out to be about the same.

I think I've stayed the same this week, although I'll confirm that tomorrow morning. I know my weight was a little less on the weekend, but I'm usually lowest on the weekend and back up a bit by my weigh in day. So I expect this week to be no different.

I've been enjoying lots of foods (in moderation) that I had chosen to seriously limit during my WW journey, which has been nice. I actually made myself a homemade breakfast sandwich on Saturday morning - I thought it was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted!

Stephen and I also indulged in a habit we had managed to stay away from for the summer - cheese at the Farmer's Market. We picked up some shropshire (a blue/cheddar mix), some dutch butter cheese (which was delicious on my egg sandwich), some good crumbly white cheddar flavoured with sour cream and chives, a brie called Rustique (with a good sharp taste, surprising for a brie), and some derby cheddar (old white cheddar made with sage, so it looks green - so good with chicken). They are all so delicious. We also picked up some smoked bacon, some cheddar smokies, fresh corn, brown eggs, and some spoon bread. Needless to say, we'll probably go back to the market again next Saturday.

After the trip to the market we went home and made a fabulous breakfast, then it was off to enjoy the day at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival - a huge weekend here in Fredericton. I was lucky enough on Thursday to win an ultimate pass for Saturday's shows. With the pass we managed to catch Matt Mays & El Torpedo on Friday night, and enjoyed shows by the Homemade Jamz', Lil' Brian and the Zydeco Travelers, Dr. John, and David Myles. What a fabulous time! We're already excited about going again next year.