And Then Life throws you a Curve

Hey, so life is actually looking up this week. I have a short post then it's off to the races - or at least the shower. You know they say the only day that is important is today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow will never come. So, on Tuesday (vs. tomorrow) I am going to re-join the gym. Fact is, I'm far too busy today. It's already 10:30 and I've had a busy morning. Got the kids off to school and set up the dishwasher and threw a load of laundry on. Then I got on the 'ole internet to apply for a job I've been eyeing for a couple of days now. I played with my resume and shot that puppy into virtual, give me a call sometime land. Then I chatted with the boss-lady at Weight Watchers about picking up some daytime meetings over the next little while. Turns out, lots of the ladies (and gentlemen) are taking vacay over the next few weeks, so subbing for them will keep me busy.

So you're asking 'what are you talking about? donchu work full time?'. Well, I've alluded to career changes in the past and it looks like it's happening. I took a semi-generous severence package - look, I'm in no way complaining since some people just get shown the door, but others are more generous - and am taking some time to pull things together.

The rest of today involves a shower, walking the dog, getting supper together and prepping for tonights WW meeting. If time allows I'll be doing the grocery list - if not I'll do it first thing tomorrow.

What else is cool about this? Next week is March Break and, since hubby is evenings, I can still do some daytime WW meetings, but also plan some great quality March Break time with the kids - something I've only been able to do one day in the previous 5 years. How awesome is that? I'll have to research where the 'free' times are - you know, like $2 movie day and free admission skating and free admission swimming and such. Oh, and the Wildlife park craft mornings with admission to the park - craft, a walk and wildlife sounds fun to me.

Tomorrow morning...I mean Tuesday morning...I will join the gym. Cranky, I better do something. My pants are getting snug and I r.e.f.u.s.e to buy a larger size.

Fantastic February Fun

Oh yeah - February is proving to be much better than January. The family is less sickly. I am less tired. AND it was actually not dark when I left work the other day. WOOHOO!!!

Last night we headed out for Valentines craft supplies. Guess I should've picked some up in the city. Usually the drug store, dollar store and grocery store are brimming with crap for every holiday. Not so this time around. And it appeared that all locations ordered from the same supplier. So, the 10 year old walked away with some stickers and rose pettals. She used some white tissue paper from Christmas - we couldn't even find red wrapping paper (sheesh).

This is all for her valentines box. In grade 5 they're not planning anything - which I think rather silly. Keep 'em kids as long as you can is my motto. Anyhoo, the teacher said they could make boxes on their own time IF they wanted and hand out valentines IF they wanted. Um, OK. So, my daughter (yay her) is busy on her box and is still handing out valentines to all her classmates. She said she wouldn't likely get very many this year since a lot of the kids decided not to participate (boo them).

Meanwhile, the 5 year old was getting arm cramps from signing her name on all of the invitations. Thank goodness they'll be making bags or something in the classroom.

Tonight is to be spent working on a grade 5 project due Friday. I'm the typist as she needs to expand on some categories. Fun, fun.

Hubby is on evenings, so I have officially 'lost' my me-time during the weeks. No biggie, but gone are my dance classes. Apparently I wasn't the only one not showing up and they cancelled it until next fall. I did apologize earlier this week as it was the first time I saw the instructor. I do have a sitter for my weekly WW meetings, but attending another leaders meeting is a no-go for now.

My mother sold the cottage. Closing date is in 2 weeks. The kids and I are hoping to rent it for a week this summer for our vacation. I asked Mom to chat with the couple and see if they were interested and to give us dates. I'll plan my time off around that - one last kick at the can, so to speak.

Happy pink day!

August Pictorial Review:)

After a few days of playing and shopping in Amherst, my old hometown, we headed for PEI. After getting over Confederation Bridge (I've never seen it before) we discovered lots to do right there. One of the highlights was paying $2 each to dress-up as Anne with an 'e' as she was depicted upon arriving in Avonlea to be greeted by Matthew. You knew I had to do it:)



When we got to the cabins, we discovered a pool, playground, and boats. Plus the fire pits. I'm thinking of booking for a whole week here next year:)

J with Chestnut and Ci with Tina. This was right next door to the cabins. We actually canoed right under the bridge in the background and could see the paddocks from our cabin.

This is just a pretty picture I took while driving from MillsBrook to Cavendish. This area was full of beauty and the pictures just don't do it justice.




We visited Santa's Wood, where J took full advantage of the ride-on vehicles she doesn't have at home, while Ci discovered the bunnies and rock-climbing wall. This was a great place, with lots of stuff to do. We even met Santa - I think he's joined WW too.




The only museum we visited was Green Gables. There were lots of photo opportunities, since this isn't technically a historical site, but rather the location were LM Montgomeries relatives lived - and the location that the book was based on.

We walked the Haunted Wood trail at Green Gables. And the girls took a little break along the way.

My girls kicking back at Heather Beach. I used to walk from the cottage to this beach along the shore when the tide was out while I was growing up. The little one wouldn't go in the water past her knees and the older one kept wanting company out further so she could swim.

And of course she rolled in the sand...

Cottage poses of the vacationing girls and another with the hub.

Mom and I in the front yard at the cottage. She's sporting the bead necklace Ci made for her. Hubby and I in the sunroom while getting ready to leave on Sunday.

My baby graduated from preschool this week. A wonderful ceremony, which included 'The Alphabet Song' and many others, was held behind the Daycare.

Quick Hi

Well, I've left the blog in darkness for a few weeks now. Sorry for the ansence, but I've been having fun.

Update on the dirt: not sure if someone kicked up a stink or offered to pay, but our supply ran out. We would have like a few more loads, but as I said before - I'm anxious to just finish the back yard, so this will have to do.

We've been on vacation. It was great. Unfortunately, Mark could not come with us as he had to work, but I got to spend lots of time with my Mom and the girls. We headed up to Mom's place on the first Monday and kicked back there. I hit an awesome sale at Marks Work Wearhouse and bought a couple of tops, 2 work capris, 1 jean capri and a pair of kahki's (sp?). Then I picked up my first ever Croc's on sale for half of what I normally see them for. We also spent time at the YMCA pool for twoonie swim a couple of times and at a local playground:)

Then it was off to Prince Edward Island. Woohoo!! I haven't been there in years. Unfortunately, Woodly Replicas, one of my favourite places, shut down this year. We stayed in a cabin on the North end of the island. I took my eldest for a trail ride and returned the next morning to left the little one enjoy a pony ride. They had cedar boats at the site and I took the girls out for a trip around the little lake, plus, for the first time ever, I started a fire. The other cabins were chopping up the wood into timber to get 'r going, but I guess I learned a thing or two from my Dad growing up.

We visited Green Gables and walked the Haunted Woods and visited the site where the old school used to be. We also went to Santa's Wood, a perfect entertainment grounds for the girls. Cavendish was so beautiful - I wish I could post a picture of the dunes, but my battery died just then. No plays, not too many touristy things, but lots of fun.

I tried to take the girls to Magnetic Hill and Magic Mtn, a water park, after returning to the mainland, but mother nature would not comply. We went shopping for school clothes instead. Then it cleared enough that I took them on Magnetic Hill (the 10 year old has dubbed this Optical Illusion Hill, lol).

Finally, the renters were gone from the cottage and we settled in. We were over at Heather's Beach every day. I love it there and it's life-guarded, plus the beach at the cottage is rocky and mucky - although beautiful to look at. I did so many Sudoku's I was dreaming in 9's. I totally relaxed. We thouroughly enjoyed Mom - she came to PEI with us and spent the week at the cottage, heading home on Friday as Mark was on his way up. I didn't get home until 8pm Sunday night, although I had planned to be home earlier to prepare for the work-week. Oh well. Then last night I worked at WW meeting as the weigher-inner. It'll be good to actually clear out the fridge and re-stock tonight.

Oh, I did hop on the scale for an unofficial weigh last night. I even left my shoes on because I knew it wasn't good. Well, I didn't reach the 2lbs over my goal, and that's all I'll say about that, except that I totally ate what I wanted and how much I wanted for 2 weeks. Funny, Mom thought what I ate was quite healthy, so I guess I've still come a long way. Water should shed a few lbs by Wednesday's official weigh-in.

Take care and have a great week.

Dirt, Work, and Weight

Hello - I know I haven't posted in a while. It's been so busy getting ready for vacation I haven't had a lot of time.

We got loads of dirt for the backyard. I'm so stinkin' excited about it too. It's ditch dirt and free - gotta love it. We're going to wait until mid-October and get it levelled, add some topsoild, and call it done. After 8 years, I'll be glad to be done with it, too. Right now we have about 20% of what we'd like and will settle for whatever we get. It was still coming as of yesterday.

Weighed in last night and am back to 143.8 lbs. I seem to be playing with this particular number often and have seen it several times over the past couple of months. We'll see how things go on vacay. I bought 2 boxes of WW pretzels and 3 boxes of WW bars as snacks for the next 2 weeks.

Take care.

Water Retention? Clothes?

Not sure why, but the scale is way down at this weeks WI. 141.6lbs - A new number. I'll take it.

I've been the weigher-inner at 2 meetings this week. It went well. I also reviewed how to do the tally. I did a 'remote' location on Monday night (trunks, tear-down) and the base location on Wednesday night. Good stuff.

After today - there's only 2 more weeks before vacation. So MUCH to do at work before then. We're going to PEI over-night during the first week and spending the second week at the cottage. Can you say Relax. I'm looking very much forward to it.

Protein Bars

Because Cara's Mom asked, this recipe is very similar to the one I use. I add the dried fruit and nuts for hubby and use real maple syrup. For myself I use the low fat syrup and leave out the extras. I also use 4 scoops of pp and extra egg white and cook for around 20 minutes for a chewy texture or longer for a cakey testure. You can sub other grains, but I like the old fashioned rolled oats. Play with it and enjoy.

Also, I was given an elliptical on Friday evening. I have been waiting for today (the last day of my gym membership) and am very excited to get started working out at home again. Peggy and her husband also gave me several York weight discs including several 2.5 lb discs, which allows me to make 15 lb weights. I'm still thinking about buying a 12lb set, but that is really all I need. After that it is "Do I want any more resistance bands?" which are, really, really cheap.

In other news, any long-term readers may remember my mentioning that last years vacation didn't go so well. This year I have already made steps to take some day trips for 1 week and rent my mothers cottage for a week. The kids do love it there and having secured it in lots of time there should be no problems this year.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and has lots of healthy foods with them for today. Take care.

Download the Bad - Maybe tomorrow I can pull out the good

OK, I mentioned the other day that there was Good, Bad and Ugly over vacation. I guess I just really got my feelings hurt and maybe putting the Bad out there will let me let go of it.

First, my mother said that she was not going to rent out her cottage during my vacation, but then called me up at the last minute to say that she had the opportunity to rent it, and was sure I wouldn't mind. Well, I'm nothing if not flexible, so I arranged my schedule to include a few days at home and a few with my mil. Now, my m-i-l either has alzheimers or brain cancer. Taking her to her cottage with my kids worked out pretty good considering, but she got off her meds the last of it, the kids argued the whole time we were there. There were also lots of horsefly's, and a mucky, crab-grassy beach. Went swimming with the kids on Friday and was dodging large clumps of seaweed. I tried to get the 9yo away from one, but...too late, she spotted the dead mouse on top of it and freaked. This traumatized the 4yo to no end and I couldn't even get her in the ocean at the 'sandy' beach where you could see the bottom after that. I couldn't wait to get to my Mom's cottage Sat morn. after the renters left.

Anyway, on Saturday, my m-i-l through a tantrum and wanted her car back from s-i-l who needed it as hers was at a 3-day concert with her 17 yo. She was trying to get ready for an open house and needed to get all of her animals out Sunday morning. Long story short, I loaned her my car and was 'stuck' at m-i-l's house until Sun afternoon. All the kids did was watch TV for 24 hrs, grrr.

OK, so we're off to my Mom's. Mom and Mark do not get on so well. She's been trying for the last couple of years, but there's a lot of water under that bridge. Anyway, that's why we were going to go back to m-i-l's cottage - so that he wouldn't have to spend a weekend around her. I talked him into coming up as the kids and I really wanted to stay (and we really didn't want to go back to the other beach) and he agreed. Sunday night myself and the girls were told to bring in our sleeping bags because 'they' were coming tomorrow and she didn't want us in the sheets - should have been my first clue.

My sister landed on Monday and the girls and I slept in the tent 2 nights running. They were upset about sleeping in the tent, but my Mom made it clear that the cottage was for sis, not me. The 3rd night it was going to storm, so we were invited to take down our tent and sleep over at Mom's boyfriends cottage (they've been dating and living together for a few years, and that is where she lives). It is only a few minutes down the road. This is where the hurt comes in. Thursday morning, Mom made it clear that we were no longer welcome. She 'couldn't' let us stay at their place, because it wasn't hers. She promised my sister the cottage, so I couldn't stay there any longer, not even in a tent on the side lot. It was strongly suggested that we go back to m-i-l's cottage for the weekend. I could surely come back on the weekends, she said. Problems I see with this:

1. We were sleeping in a tent in the yard. Who was that hurting?
2. Mark would have gone up at least for a visit to see his niece and nephew that we haven't seen for 2 years, but we clearly weren't welcome.
3. The cottage has been rented steady - sis is there until the 18th, then is occupied by Mom and her BF while his dd's get his cottage - tell me when I'm supposed to go up? In the fall?
4. You don't do that to family.
5. You just don't do that to family.

Furthermore, because my 9yo was crying over this (and of course blaming me), Mom actually gave her a cheque (made out to me) for $100 so we could 'do something fun' - but was told not to give it to me until much later after we left so I wouldn't return it. So, the message here is that money fixes everything. Well, it doesn't. She's been selling that message to my daughter for years and I'm actually sick of it. If you can't be there and be real, stay away!

Next year, I will be better prepared and will take my children away - rent a place or something. I am hurt, a little for me, but mostly for my girls. Guess it's best to know where you stand in life.
We ended up coming home. I think a couple of days to unwind did do us all some good. My s-i-l called to tell us we couldn't have the 'other' cottage as her dd was going out. I told hubby that they could piss off and I didn't want to go anyway.

Well, back to work, daycare, and sitters today. Everyone is glad to be back, I think. I know I am. I've had enough 'family' fun for 1 year.

HOME AGAIN!

Home again, Home again, Jiggidy Jig!

Great to be back. Will catch up with everyone later as kiddies are crazy to go to the pool right now.

What's new: Got high speed, but need a card for the 'puter, apparently, so it's not working yet.

After 5 days of 'weekend' and a 0.6lb gain, I decided to do Core for a week. I didn't record anything, but tried to stick with Core foods as much as possible. Since I was shopping and cooking for everyone it was quite easy until the kids wanted to make a blueberry pie with the blueberries we picked at m-i-l cottage. I only ate 2 pieces (1/4 pie) - oops. Well, that was the only thing.

Weighed in at noon (before lunch) last Tuesday and was down 2 lbs. I was pleased, but am going to wait until the official Wednesday night weigh-in this week before celebrating meeting the 170. Hopefully it can be maintained and will hold true for a 6:30pm weigh-in.

Cheers, Candace

Picnics and Good Times

Hi all, It has been a great weekend. I can hardly believe I am on vacation for 2 whole weeks. I took a week off late October last year between jobs, but I didn't keep the kids home with me - I had been through the ringer and needed some alone time. I took 3 whole days the year before, and the year before that was when I came off maternity leave. So I am really looking forward to this year.

Last night we went to friends for a barbecue and swimming. I brought my own potatoes which were juliened by yours truly with a new kitchen gadget, shaken in a ziploc bag with olive oil, salt, pepper, italian seasonings and some bran for breading. Also brought a tomatoe and green pepper and my own low point burger and some chicken breasts. Not sure how I'm doing overall on points. I'm trying to write things down, but suspect I'm missing the odd thing. Mark let the 9yo pick out her own meat at the grocery as she doesn't like hamburger. The monkey came home with a small piece of fresh tuna and a small steak. She did share with others, but I had to laugh. I had a frozen burger while she chowed down on surf and turf. Someone has Daddy wrapped around her finger.

We had a lot of fun and came home with movies for everyone. Since it rained today, it was nice to have some new selections. Even in the rain, we headed to the pool tonight. Only 4 other people in the pool. I took the girls because, as a youngster, swimming in the rain was so much fun for me. I did get in, some lame attempts at laps in the 1ft end so I could stay near the 4yo (yeah for butterfly stroke). The water is crazy warm.

We've decided to get away from the house on Wednesday and won't likely be back until the end of my vacation. We're visiting m-i-l, then heading to her cottage for a few days. On Sunday I'm going to my Mom's cottage and helping her clean as it's being rented this week. My sis is due at the cottage on Monday, so will spend until Thursday with her. Hubby's meeting us back at his Mom's cottage where we'll hang out for the last weekend.

OK, I'm Lame - Get Over It!

So here I was complaining about pigging out on baby carrots while members of my support team (every link is my daily inspiration) was stressing over much more serious matters, such as cravings, ice cream, cake, cake mix and diet coke (ew!) and so forth. How lame am I?
I think the problem was really the Shrimp Marinara (lunch before the carrots). Must have gotten something bad as my tummy was just not right the rest of the day or this morning. I managed to eat 24 points yesterday, but the last couple were very difficult and upset me all over again. I really just consumed them to meet the GHG's. I'm finally feeling better and appologize for lamenting about carrots.
In all seriousness though, I have been giving thought to Core, but am nervous about it.

Challenge: I've been neglecting the exercise part of my Challenge commitment this week. I think I have about 15 minutes of lawn mowing in and may count 15 minutes of running up and down the stairs doing laundry, but I doubt I'll reach 150 minutes this week. Now is the time to get over myself though. Forgive myself for my poor behaviour, re-set my weekly goals to something that can be done by Wednesday (say, 75 minutes - Mon walk 30, Tues stretch 15, Tues walk 30) and put the past behind me.

Onward and upward: Met today with senior management and will need to do a bunch of analysis stuff (ugh). Maybe this is why I've been 'off' for a few days - I always stress about meetings with management. I know they're just people and we're all after the same goal, but man the pending meeting really messes with me. This analysis is going to be even more difficult because I am on vacation for 2 weeks starting Friday at 5pm, baby, and I'm not coming in for it!

Vacation: OK, enough work talk, something fun. Mark (aka hubby) has to work every other weekend, but is off my 1st and last weekend and will try to take the last Friday off with me (YEAH!). Even when he works he's home at 9:30am, so I shouldn't complain, but he's just so gosh-darn tired until after a nap, so he maysawill work 'till noon.
More exciting stuff: My little sister is coming home and will be going to the cottage on the Monday of my 2nd week off. Woohoo - I really miss her and her little angels. So, I think we'll pack the tent and head up for a few days, then back-track to my mil's cottage and meet up with Mark for the last weekend. The first week I just don't know...decisions, decisions...we might just hang out around home and spend afternoons and evenings at the pool. I'm really gonna have to plan the 4yo's birthday party soon (July 4 - been and gone) and vacation seems like a good time to fit it in.