Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Campbell River - Father's Day

We went on a road trip on Father's Day, up to Cambell River, BC to visit my Dad's mom and his brothers.  We only ended up seeing Uncle Steve....we thought we might see Uncle Bob, but he was camping.  I hadn't seen Grandma in a couple of years, so it was much needed and a really great visit!  We took our vehicle up there as well, as there were too many of us to take only mom and dad's van.  However, on the way there (only 20ish km from our destination) one of our tires blew!  UGH!  We had known we would likely have to get new tires in the near future....unfortunately this expedited it!  We thought we would have to try and track something down in Campbell River, but thankfully  our spare was rated for 3000 miles at a speed of 65 mph....so we were good to go until we could get something new in Victoria after the weekend! :)  We were very thankful or that!

This is the greatest Canadian song ever....oh Canada, oh, oh, oh Canada! ;)
Jordan came in our car with us....we had fun with the camera, and switched back and forth between our ipods, trying to find the best songs :)  It was good times!
Yup....that's us....total gangstas! lol!
WHAT A DUMB NAME!! HA! :)
Craaaaaapppp!
Thankfully I was accompanied by an amazing husband and brother who are ever so talented in the tire changing department!
The Humphreys, Nelsons & Millers
Grandma has a gorgeous garden that she puts a whole lot of time and effort into!
Grandma and I :) <3
We were so squished on the way home!  Mom and Jordan had left earlier to pick David up from his West Coast Trail hike, and since Mom wasn't wanting to take the risk of driving all that way on our spare tire, she of course took her van :)  So that meant we had 5 people in our 5 person car....it was COZY! :)  But we made it work....we mostly slept for the 3 hours!  As you can see, William was already there....this was only like 2 minutes into our trip home! Ha! :)

It was a really nice visit - I really hope to be able to get up there and see Grandma and my uncles more often.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Week 2 results & the beginning of Week 3!

I'm down 2.8 lbs and 1.25 inches!! 

I know, I should be happy with any loss, and I am....but I am slightly disappointed in myself.  It felt like I worked really hard, and I thought I would see more results at the end of the week.  But I did some self reflection and tried to see where I went wrong....I think I snacked too much.  I am the type of person who will snack when I'm bored, snack while watching tv, etc, etc....so I need to really watch that.  I know I snacked more in week 2 than in week 1.  Maybe part of it might be that in week 1 my body was probably in shock with all the new exercise and healthy food, so dropped the weight quicker....who knows....I am only guessing! :)

But anyway, I have resolved myself to longer and harder workouts to get back up to what I think is a more decent loss each week.  I guess almost 3 pounds isn't too bad....I just want to see instant results....that's my problem!!! :)

I did my walking dvd again tonight and walked a little over 2.5 miles....the longest I've done yet!!  I'm SO proud of my Mom - she did the whole 4 miles tonight!!!  SO AWESOME!! :)  I want to get to that point soon...I know it will require me to really push myself...I am willing to try!

So here's to a healthy week, with lots and lots of exercise and healthy foods....and little snacking ;)

Thursday, June 17, 2010

2 MILES!

I feel SO GOOD!  I've had this exercise dvd for awhile now - it's called "Punch Up Your Walk" by Leslie Sansone:
It's a 4 mile walk, separated into four 1 mile segments....and today, I finally did 2 full miles without stopping!! I am SO thrilled!  I've done a mile before, and sometimes a mile and a half, but I've never gotten to two...especially without stopping!! :)   I'm very excited about this :)

I highly recommend this dvd - and I can only imagine her other dvds are just as great.  She really is excellent - I love her no pressure attitude and she's not that annoying preppy super happy like a lot of other exercise instructors....it's refreshing :)

So anyway, I bought this dvd at Walmart for I think $14.99 or something like that....it comes with a pair of weighted gloves...they're fairly light, about a pound or 2.  You can buy it online as well.  It's now my mission to be able to do at least 2.5 - 3 miles tomorrow :)  Let's see if I can do that!

Happy exercising everyone!!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Grad of 2010!!!

My brother Jordan graduated this weekend....I have no idea how he can possibly be old enough to be doing this?!  I am so very proud of him....I know he will accomplish big things in his life and excel at everything he does!  He is considering going into teaching (which I think he would be great at!), and possibly photography.  I know he really wants to travel - Ireland and New Zealand (I will pack myself in his suitcase)...can you imagine the photo opportunities?!

He's an amazing guy, and I love him a ton! So proud of you Jordo!!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

week in review...

First and foremost....LUKE'S HERE!!!!

He wasn't planning on being able to be here for at least another week or so, but he left early and got here Thursday!!!  So exciting! :)  We're going to be able to spend at least 6 weeks together, which I am very thankful for!


And as for my weight loss mission.....I lost 5 pounds this week, and 6 inches!!  WOOHOO!!  I was so proud of myself!  I know it's a small blip in the whole scheme of things, but it's one step in the process!  It sure gives me motivation to get my butt moving even more and continue to eat healthy.

I'm so proud of all my ladies for doing so well this week!  Check out Cheryl's blog to see our results - we rock it out!!  And it's just the beginning...we're going to continue to do so well! :)

Have a great week all - I will update about how the week goes!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

mission: get healthy - day 1 & 2

As I mentioned before, I have become newly motivated and inspired to get my butt in gear and start getting healthy.  I've had a constant struggle with my weight and my level of fitness and my overall outlook on myself in general for as long as I can remember, and I am so sick of feeling this way.  So 2 days ago I began my new way of life...of being healthy!  I'm hoping to keep track of everything I do so I can see my results and see my progress.  I'm really excited about this - I know it's going to be a lot of hard work, and I'm sure there are going to be days when I break down and have something I shouldn't, but I am really going to give this my all!

June 7th: I started my healthy lifestyle - I had been eating oatmeal (the old fashioned kind, not instant) with raisins and dried cranberries, but once I looked at the sugars that are in those two things, I decided unsweetened apple sauce would be a much better choice!  So that's going to be my go-to breakfast from now on I think.  I might try adding some cinnamon since that's supposed to be really good for you too!  For lunch I had a roast beef wrap:  flour tortilla, 1/2 tbsp of cream cheese spread thin, 3 slices of roast beef (I am cutting this down to 2), ranch dressing, ceasar dressing, mustard, sprouts, lettuce and tomato... SO GOOD! :)  And for dinner I think we just had some leftovers and a salad.  

I was able to do my weights and some sit-ups in the morning, and I did 25 mins of our recumbent exercise bike.  It was really hard for me to go that long, but I pushed myself and was quite proud that I did it :)  Mom and Dad have an infrared sauna at the house here, which is supposed to be really good for you and also burns calories, so I spent 15 mins in there as well.  

June 8th:  I once again did my weights and recumbent bike exercises today.  This time I spent 28 mins on the bike and burned 201 calories!  I was quite proud of myself ;)  I spent 20 mins in the sauna this time, but I turned it down to 120 degrees instead of the 130 it was at yesterday.  I also wrote down the exercises I'm doing with my weights and how many reps I can do with each one, so that I can see the progress I'm making.  Slowly but surely wins the race!  

I felt like I ate really well today - I really feel like I can stick with this!  I had my oatmeal in the morning, as described above.  For lunch I took some tuna mixture and at it on rice crackers (this has been a family favourite forever...mom and I both had two each).  I also found that Motts personal sized apple sauce only has 50 calories and 0 grams of fat, so I bought a 6 pack of them for lunches...I had one of those today too.  Mom has found that walnuts are supposed to be really good for you, but they are very high in calories...so she measured out 1/4 cup of them into a baggy and we shared them...it gave us about 6 or 7 walnuts each.  It was plenty though, for a little boost.  I had taken an apple to snack on, but never needed to use it.  We have both upped our water intake a lot - we're drinking about 6 cups a day at the moment and plan on trying to increase that to the recommended 8, if not more.  For dinner, mom had put some chicken in the crockpot and we cooked up some barley instead of rice to put the sauce over.  We also made a gigantic green salad with all sorts of  veggies.  We had scoured the salad dressings in the grocery store this afternoon, comparing labels.  We found a light ranch that we liked, and it was very yummy.  it's just a store brand though, so unfortunately it won't help those of you not in Victoria! :)  So I watched my portions on my chicken and had a small thigh and small leg, about a cup or so of barley with probably about 2 tbsp of sauce (give or take...we weren't measuring!), and then loaded up on salad :)  I was most definitely full, and still am! 

We used to eat barley all the time when I was younger - we would eat it in place of rice a lot of the time, and even pasta.  We've eaten spaghetti sauce on it many times, and it is delicious!  The barley itself is really good for you, so I don't feel like I'm getting empty calories like I would from white rice.  We could do brown rice instead, but or our family, I think most of us prefer the barley anyway :)  We got a jar of really nice Classico spaghetti sauce to have in the fridge, to mix with any leftover barley in the next few weeks, to take for lunches.  It has very few calories and very little fats, and it was one of the only ones without any added sugars - the ingredients were very simple.  So that's kind of the mind frame we're heading in - simple and healthy! :)  I will be interested to hear everyone else's recipes and lunch and dinner ideas!

I am extremely pumped about this whole thing - I love the fact that I am accountable to my mom and Cheryl and all the other ladies in our little group :)  I would hate to have to email Cheryl and tell her that I didn't to any exercises today!  So it's really motivating me to make sure I do.  And the healthy eating thing is sure to pay off in the end....it's definitely not going to hurt!  So I hope to keep blogging about it and keep track of my progress.  If anyone has any tips and tricks and ideas, I am so open to anything!  

Thanks for listening!  Wish me luck! :)

A + W forever!

My little sister is engaged!!!!  Her wonderful boyfriend William popped the question yesterday :)  SO EXCITED!!!! :) The actual wedding isn't going to be for another year or two, so there's plenty of time to plan and get even more excited! :)

It was a beautiful day for them - Ali calls it the best day ever!  They went to one of their favourite beaches and William had arranged for my brother Jordan to set up a picnic lunch for them.  They found the blanket with all their food spread out on it, and Ali was very confused when Will started heading for it, thinking it was someone else's stuff!  He then told Ali to hold on a minute while he dashed into the woods behind the beach, leaving Ali even more confused, and changed into his suit! :)  When he emerged from the woods he was fully dressed in his suit and got on one knee and asked her to be his forever :)  It all sounds incredibly sweet and wonderful - I love all the details that Will thought of...what a great guy!!

We had champagne and cake and wedding magazines waiting for them when they got home! :)
Welcome to the family William!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Accountability Partner!

It's always a good idea to have support behind you when you start something big!  Having people surrounding you that are cheering you on and celebrating your achievements, as well as comforting your downfalls...what a wonderful thing!  My friend Cheryl decided that's what she needed to start back into a healthy life of exercise, good food, and weight loss....and I TOTALLY agree!  I need it too!  She started a blog requesting all of her female friends to become "Accountability Partners" with her in this quest.  I decided I was so up for the challenge as I have been struggling with weight and weight related issues for a long, long time.  I know it's always easier when you do these things with a partner, or a group of people, even if for no other reason but the emotional support!  But Cheryl's idea was great in that we're talking to one another about things on a daily basis - we have to be accountable to one another about what exercises we did that day, and what bad foods we ate that day, or when we totally fall off the bandwagon and eat a whole cake! ;)  

I'm so energized about this whole idea!  She has a nice small group of ladies now who are committed to helping one another out, and be accountable to one another to keep us each on the right track!  I'm really looking forward to getting to know each of them better and getting into a much healthier way of life.  I have a lot of weight to lose, and it's pretty daunting when I think about it, but I know I can be much more successful when I have a group of people supporting me.  So I hope to add a new dynamic to this blog with weight loss/healthy living/good food posts, to track my progress!  So I look forward to hearing any great healthy food recipes or tried and true ideas for weight loss...I am up for pretty much anything! :)

Thanks, Cheryl, for starting this up - this is going to be so helpful!! :)

Check out her blog - she rocks!   

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Alina's Honda Demolition

Alina's Honda pretty much died the other day....it's been going downhill for awhile....smoking really badly, the seatbelts aren't greatly reliable, the windows don't go down, and the list goes on and on :)  So she bought a new car, and donated her old car to the Fire Hall that she belongs to so that they could practice safe vehicle extractions and all things demolition! :)  Jordan, William and I went up to watch and take some photos.

So for your viewing pleasure.....the Honda demolition!

William got to ride in the fire truck from the hall up to the training center!  Very exciting! :)
The "Before" picture
Using the Jaws of Life
Alina got to take the car out for one more spin and smash it into a couple other demo cars that they had up in the training area...
This is an old 1930's fire truck that used to be their first truck...they are going to restore it back to it's original beauty!
It's a convertible now! :)
Alina using the Jaws of Life again.
Learning from her great teacher!
Jordan and William taking it all in :)
Once they were done they decided to take it for one last drive and do some tricks :)  Ram it into several cars and do some fishtails, etc.  It was hilarious ;)
They found this old garden gnome and decided to throw it in for good measure ;)
The "After" Picture!

All in all it was a very entertaining evening!  Ali was really glad for the experience and was able to do some fun damage to her precious old car :)