keeping fit...

Been ages since I have written in this blog. I believe I said that last time. Can I use the excuse that I am busy trying to keep busy?  Works for me. I don't have a job outside the home, so I try to think of various things to keep me out of trouble...ok, off the computer playing games!  I have joined a gym that keeps me going 5 - 6 days a week.
  Did I tell you about the first time I went to this gym years ago?  I was being shown all the equipment and how to use them. One machine works the inner thighs. You have to sit and put your legs in these leg holder things...oooh such terminology there. Anyway, you spread your legs apart and have to use your muscles to bring them together again. Quite the workout. While on the way home from this work out, a thought came to me. Not, how proud of myself I was for actually getting off my ever expanding butt and going there...nope, the thought that came to me was "oh my god, am I wearing the yoga pants that have a hole in the crotch?"  There is no better way to check other then, well checking. Yup!! These were the ones. So everyone saw my granny panties while I worked out. Thankfully, it is a women only gym!! THAT was years ago, and I am happy to report I have rejoined this gym complete with new yoga pants.  I do enjoy going especially now that they have a "smart" card. You plunk this chip into the machine and it will measure the effort you put in. Complete with calories burned and it also shows you if your are improving your efforts day to day.
  So far, I have lost 15lbs and about 12 inches over all. Some areas could use some more shrinking for sure, but baby steps. Another activity that keeps me from playing computer games all day (seriously, my house is clean..I don't just play computer games..honest), is take my dog for a walk along the canal we live near. (ugh..bad grammar there). This is her favourite past time besides chasing plastic bags and eating used tissue! I take my ipod to sing along with as well. I live out in the country..who is going to hear me as I sing along?   Oh that reminds me of a story that happened to me this weekend.  I was walking along a country road on Sunday. Quiet area.  I had my ipod in and suddenly it felt like my yoga pants were slipping down. I walked a few more steps and sure enough, they were heading south!  I unzipped my jacket, ipod fell to the ground, bent down to pick that up and then hiked up my pants. There right behind me was a jeep driving past quite slowly. Oh come one...there was no one for at least 1/2 hour and suddenly when I am losing my pants some jeep full of farmer men drives past. That is my life for sure. As I headed back from my walk, the same jeep drove past me again. I seriously need to rethink my wardrobe when walking or going to work out. OR..and here's a wacky idea, why not wear pants that fit!!  Tomorrow I will be going shopping!!

The non diet..diet..

Well we are already half way through January and I decided that I would NOT be one of those people that make the usual resoultions come Jan 1st.  Cause (as my mother would say) as sure as god made little green apples, I would be binging by the 3rd.  Diets just don't work for me. The second I put the word diet into my head, I am already starving and just dying for a piece of warmed up brownie with oozing icing...yum. Instead, I decided to get off the couch, which is so comfy, and join Curves gym. The Curves I belong to is on the second floor, so I had to walk up loads of steps just to get there. Truth be told, the elevator is rather old and looks very complicated to work. Maybe they just put that sign with all those instructions there, just so the curves members would use the stairs.  Hey...it worked. I got up to the top of the stairs and pretended I wasn't out of breath by stopping to look at my phone. I had a tiny hallway to walk down and tried to catch my breath. Ugh!!  Was I ever someone that needed to join this gym!  I entered the gym and the fun began. I have been ther since the beginning of November and have gone 5 days a week. Mind you, it was closed for a week during Christmas. I get measured and weighed once a month.
     My first month was hard. There were times when I really didn't want to go. I came up with all kinds of excuses as to why I just had to stay at home. But the more I talked myself out of going..the more my other half of the brain was kicking my ass out the door.  I am at the point where now I feel terrible if I miss a workout. Anyway, I dreaded my first weigh in and measuring. I stepped on the scale and lost...2lbs. Oh good grief! (my inside voice said a lot worse..). BUT I had lost 4 inches in total. Under this roll, there is a six pack waiting to come out!  A friend of mine goes to another Curves and has lost 10lbs. But, as she said, she has been starving herself. It is so hard to not focus on the weight numbers. It was weighing and measuring time last week. Gulp, this was after the Christmas holidays and let me tell you, I did not hold back on eating baking.  I lost 1lb, but another 4 inches. Yes!!!  I was told not to focus on the numbers...cause she could read my mind yet again. She said my body is kind of in shock that I am not starving myself and from all the years of yo-yo dieting, it isn't sure what to do with me right now.  I was told, the weight will fall off soon.
     I am proud to say I have donated all my size 18 pants and have even recently bought a size 14 jeans. I still deal with the muffin top, but I now it is going down. Truth be told, I am a size 16, for now. My aim is maybe a size 12. I would be happy with that for sure. I won't even be a stick insect, but I can deal with that , no problem.
    I am into my 3rd month of goint to curves and they are offering a new diet program that says I could shed 20lbs in 3 months. Wow!  I will sign up for that, just not right now cause, let's face it, who wants to be on a diet while on a holiday! I am off for a trip with my husband and I will watch what I eat, but I won't diet.

It's Christmas Eve...oh boy oh boy!!

Deep down inside, I am a little kid at Christmas. I love the music and play the "all Christmas music" radio station from the beginning. At one time, my husband said "they play the same things over and over again." I think that was his hint for me to change the channel. I didn't. I for sure need to listen to it when decorating the tree and doing some baking. And now, it is Christmas tomorrow. The gifts are all wrapped, the champagne is bought and chilling! I even get tempted to head to a mall just to soak up all the hustle and bustle of the season...Tempted..not crazy!
  Right now, we are having major subzero temperatures. -25C..brrr. This is the one time of year when I wish we had a fireplace to cozy up to. But, we chucked that out when doing up the renos of the house. The smart people in Television land, made a channel that shows a fireplace. Complete with the odd scene of a hand coming in to stir up the logs.  They say the temps are going to remain this cold for a few day ahead. Ugh! Lots of Coffee and Baileys and/or hot chocolate and baileys. Seeing a theme here?
    I have kept the presents from under the tree because I have a certain, nosey lab that would love nothing more then to open each and everyone one.  I guess her argument would be she was inspecting them making sure everything was OK. This is driving the kids crazy. We need to put them under the tree. The tree looks bare! So, after I make the gingerbread cookies, I will put them under the tree and then stand back as the kids go through them. No matter how old you are, it is always exciting to see a package with your name on it. The temptation to just have a peek is overwhelming. Maybe the gifts aren't under the tree to keep ME from being nosey! haha.. As per tradition, we open one small gift tonight then do the rest tomorrow. I shall have some champagne and orange juice  and prepare to watch the Queen's message!

 I would like to wish you all A wonderful Christmas season. Or Happy Holidays or whatever you call it. Seems to be quite the discussion around here as to what is socially acceptable.
 Enjoy your family time!!

how nice

  Here I sit on my laptop beside the tree. That's nice, you think to yourself. Across from me are my three kids. 18, 16 and 15. Again...that's good.  What is good about that is they are sitting together on the couch watching a scooby-doo movie on my daughter's laptop!  Hard to believe only a few short years ago, I thought they wouldn't get along..I mean EVER!!  Since there are 3 of them, there was always two that got along and the 3rd sort of left out in!  Secretly (guess not a secret any longer) I thought maybe we should have had 4 kids. More of an even playing (or fighting) field then. But, who is to say that maybe 3 wouldn't gang up on the 4th. I remember when they were a lot younger sitting in the livingroom listening to them fight over a piece of Lego. I listened to this for awhile and finally I just had to ask "How can you possibly tell this tiny, grey piece of lego is yours?" "We can just tell and I know it is mine..!"  at which time the fight began again. When they became teenagers, well just looking at one another "a certain" way would set them off.  Holy crap they would yell and fight.  But, today, I see them getting along and dare I say, they are finally friends!  It is very nice to see and I thought I would share it!!

No topic..just rambling as I do from time to time...

I have my tree up rather early this year. It could be because last year we were in the thick of things with renovating our kitchen.  I had a double mattress behind my couch  and a large tv in front of the window. Oh wait, that sounds like I have a bed usually in my kitchen. That takes breakfast in bed to a whole new meaning.  While we were doing our kitchen, why not knock a few walls down and work on a bedroom as well. THAT is how all this furniture got into my livingroom.  Anyway, there was barely enough room for anyone to walk around. Now, for me this was horrible, cause I love decorating with my Christmas things.  I decided to make the most of it by hanging stockings on the large TV and putting a quilt up to cover the mattress. Worked great until my husband decided to move the TV to the bedroom we were making. Oh, but  where will my stocking hang?  They made it to the mattress. The Quilt was used to cover a table that didn't belong.  In other words, my livingroom looks like a tornado went through it. It was not the "homes and garden" type decorated room. I made the best of it. BUT this year, nothing is out of place. OK, I do have some stuff that doesn't belong here, but that is pure laziness on my part. With the giddiness I get this time of year, I decorated like a mad women!!  Tree is up, everything has a proper home and no mattress needs hiding! Yipee!!  Tomorrow my daughter comes home from University!  So looking forward to carrying on with traditions  like baking our favourite Danish Pastries.  I have done some baking and have tortured the boys by putting half of it in the freezer.  My mother used to do this and I always told her I wanted to be a freezer when I grew up so I could get all the baked goodies.
    I have one decoration outside. We do not put up lights or buy big blow-up Santas to put on our front lawn. We live in the prairies and there is always a wind blowing. I have a small flag that goes on a metal pole in the garden. It is small and I have been lucky it hasn't been taken off it's pole and blown across the prairies!      I am even ready to wrap gifts and put them under the tree. I think I might hold that off for a bit. I don't want the dog to get bored and start eating the paper, as she does!

Visions of........running around my mind

Here I sit on my couch, feet up looking out the window at the snow lightly falling.  I am also lucky enough to have a view of the mountains, OK not right this moment..cause, its snowing. BUT when I can see them, they are beautiful. I have various "winter" decoration put up around the house. I don't call them Christmas decorations, because those won't be put up until officially December. That's my rule. I have gone shopping for gifts, hidden somewhere (just in case one or all of the kids read this).  I am well into the spirit of things, complete with music playing in the background. What thoughts are running around in my mind now? Bet you can't guess!  No, it isn't thoughts of sugar plums or anything like that. Sigh, what is going around in my mind that I desperately want to do is.....Go to Zurich and attend the Robbie Williams concert!!  I am such a fan! One summer, while in Scotland, I found out he was doing a concert in Glasgow..3 days after we left! Argg. 3 days!!!  I wanted to change my flight. Could I write to him and ask if he would mind doing it 3 days earlier then scheduled? That wouldn't be too pushy.  So, I now see he is doing a concert in Europe. I figure since I know people in Switzerland, why not kill two birds with one stone. Go visit my friends, and take part in his concert. I have even gone ahead and "clicked" the attend button on his facebook page. Like pressing that will result in tickets to Switzerland and his concert.  I do torment myself sometimes with stuff like that.  My other argument is he will never do a North American concert. They just don't really know who he is here. I mean his new CD came out and right off the bat is cost $12.-! A great deal for me, but not so much for his ego??  So, Robbie, if you happen to read this, how would you like a pure, crazy (not jail kind of crazy lol), will sing along to every song Canadian fan at your concert??
  In the meantime, I shall continue to listen to his music while sitting on the couch watch the snow fall.  Life is good!!

gray matter...

    I am thinking of letting my hair go gray! I have been colouring it for years and years. I am not even sure what my natural colour would be right now..oh wait, yes gray!  I have had such a battle with the colour of my hair over the years. My ideal colour would be a nice, mellow blonde. Not harsh because I have just about the whitest skin known!  But, for some reason, my hair turns a shade of red when I add a blonde shade to it. "just use an ash tone, that will get rid of the red", says loads of people over the years. That just didn't work. Eventually, the ole red would come out. So, what can a girl do, but colour her hair red!!  Yes, I did that just with the image of being sultry with my red locks. Colour set, rinsed, time for the big reveal. YIKES!! What had I done?  I hate red hair! (no insult to those born with red hair or that happened to love red hair). I just don't like it on me for some reason. So, next would be turning it dark to bring out my blue eyes. Did I mention the darker I go with my hair, the bluer my eyes look AND the paler my skin looks, so I seem to walk around like death warmed over! Sigh.. What is a person to do? Well, one can stop colouring her hair once and for all. That is where I am at today. I did what anyone would do, and that is to consult with the experts that live in google land.  They said to buy temporary colour and have it wash away gradually in 24 days. Eventually my natural colour will show through without anyone noticing. I am certainly not worried about anyone noticing my hair colour change. I have gone from red, to bright blonde to almost black in the same year! I think it is almost expected of me to change the colour of my hair every few months.
  Now the question remains, will I look much older than I am, if I turn gray. (side note...I debated to spell it "grey" but it looks too funny.) I am very young at heart. Almost immature, according to my kids. I know a lot of my friends have gone the gray way and look wonderful. I think I will do the lighter, temporary colour route and see what happens. Wish me luck! And to those that have gone gray, any tips? How did you go from colouring to natural gray? I shall keep you posted.