Weekend Warrior #28

Weekend Warrior #28

by | Sep 3, 2017 | Weekend Warrior

Long weekend!  Yes!  I had planned to take Friday off as a vacation day.  I am working on the Holiday.  I earn holiday pay, it is a Stat.  So I am OK with that, as I enjoyed having yesterday off.

We started the day off at a local restaurant for Brunch.  It was my second time at Claudine’s Eatery on Main Street, in Fredericton.  It was my husband’s first time there.  When I spoke to the owner about writing about our experience, she was concerned that we took pictures of our meals.  There was a new cook, and apparently, they are not trained on presentation, yet.  I told her not to worry, as long as I had permission to use some pictures from her online pages.  She said that would be fine.

Claudine's Eatery

I didn’t know if I should go for something fancy or not, but when I saw a number of choices on the breakfast menu that included lobster…I decided to take the plunge in for some seafood.  I ordered the lobster omelet with a side salad instead of homefries, and also no toast.

My husband got “The Maritimer” a traditional bacon eggs sausage toast and added ham.  The new cook forgot to put the pancakes on his plate.  They brought them out on a separate plate.  He liked his breakfast.  I enjoyed mine, immensely.  There were large pieces of lobster in the omelet,  and the side salad was fresh.  I would recommend it to anyone, it was wonderful.  The pic below has toast, mine did not.

Lobster omelet at Claudine's Eatery

Other than specializing in many types of Eggs Benny, they also have french onion soup listed as one of their favourites.  While I was searching through their pictures, I spied what I will try the next time I go for lunch.

Lobster grilled cheese with gouda and a small crock pot lobster poutine at Claudine's Eatery 2

Lobster grilled cheese with gouda and a small crock pot lobster poutine at Claudine’s Eatery.

My husband is not a fan of seafood.  Lobster ranks higher than chocolate or pizza on my list.  I will be going to try this, and maybe to talk about my favourite way to eat lobster. Always Thinking…

I then made my way out to King Woolens and Yarns after I brought my husband home.  I was planning to visit my friend, the owner, and check out what she set up for the new display for my Tish’s Treasures in her store.  I forgot to bring my new blue flower earrings. 🙁

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Blue Flower Earrings

She had found a picture of a display online that she asked my opinion on.  I liked it and told her so.  She didn’t need help assembling it, but I went out to look for ideas for the base with her.  She had the new display assembled and ready.  It makes you want to walk around it to see what else is there.  She did a great job on it.  I happened to bring out a few new jewellery displays I had found yard sale shopping earlier in the summer, and we made a few changes.  We worked on it together, and it looks great now!

 

Saturday was a day for Blogging, errands and social media work.  It was busy in its own way.  I have been fighting a sinus headache.  I think I am winning, and I finished my day with making a pot of chili.  Not a lot of prep cooking today, but we have leftover chili to eat when we are hungry.

Sunday is here.  I am Bouncing the House, still with plans to go to Church this evening.  I then have a skype date with my cousin.  Until then I busied myself with the Master Bedroom cleaning, and shopping at the local Northside Market.  When things slow down and I have access to a better camera, I will be writing about the different markets in the city, and maybe guest blogging about them.  If that plan works out, I will be sure to share the links.

I bought a large fresh cabbage, and some ground pork while I was at the Market.  I plan on making egg roll in a bowl late tonight so I can have it for lunch at work tomorrow.
I bought meat, eggs, and vegetables for groceries, and splurged on some His & Hers Samosas (we each like different kinds) and a bag of apple muffins for a treat.

It was a busy long weekend.  What are your plans?  What did you do this weekend?

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 28

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 28

by | Sep 1, 2017 | Trust Your Gut

 

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Homepage for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name.  If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story.  The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors.  I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.

This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.

Here is  Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 28

Somebody asked me a question the day that made me stop and think.  The question was, “Where do you get your energy?”  My quick response was, “Coffee and kickass multivitamins.”  But I thought about it some more and felt that the person that asked me the question deserved a better answer.  I met up with him a few minutes later, and I explained that it is from following my passion.  When I am being creative, it makes me push my limits and myself.  I am inspired all the time, even in my sleep.  If I let myself go when it comes to being creative, whether or not it is writing, there are no boundaries.  I can be struck by an idea for the blog by having a conversation with my husband or a friend.  It can even happen when I am working.  I can wake up in the middle of the night with an idea, and when that happens, I make myself go write it down.

I wish I could harness this energy, and direct some of it towards my metabolic rate.  The feelings of utter joy I have when I am making progress on one of my projects is unmatched anywhere else in my life.  It is all me, from my very core, and it radiates out.  It is contagious.  It is visible.  People can see the change in me when I am working on something that makes my heart sing!

Note: I realized after this was published, that I forgot a very important part of my answer to this question.  YOU!  Every time someone reads, likes, shares or comments on this blog, it adds fuel to my train of momentum.  So thank you, each and every one of you for taking the time out of your busy lives to include reading my words.  It means more than I can write here, in just one paragraph, and even if there was a longer place for this note, I don’t know if words can describe the feelings I have inside about every bit of growth it has from your continued support.  You all amaze me.

I am starting to prepare for my challenge. It starts tomorrow.  I have a long weekend.  With the work I have done in the last month with the other challenges, I want to keep the momentum going.  I am going to focus on making healthier choices.  I am going to use the same fire and determination in my journey to be a healthier version of myself.  Tonight, I am getting it out of my system.  This weekend, I am going to be setting up my new routine.  I will need to get organized and to do that I will need a plan.  That means food, specifically meals, and snacks, drinks, testing my sugars frequently, recording all of this and how much insulin I am taking.  If I am serious about this, I know I will see results.  I wrote in my challenges about why I want to be an entrepreneur.  Part of the answer was because I want to lead by example.  I am working hard on my dreams, and one of them is becoming a healthier version of myself.  I am going to start with planning the next week while I start this weekend.

I will be researching new recipes in my Trim Healthy Mama book.  There are other recipes online, and there are my favourites I can mix into the meal plan.  I have not made a lot of desserts because I was not certain of the sweetener ratio.  I am using swerve in the powdered and granular form.  THM uses their own sweeteners, and there are conversions for their blends of sweeteners.  I have the chart on the inside of a cabinet door in the kitchen.  I have most of the ingredients I need for making THM recipes, so I am going to expand my horizons with testing some new recipes and adding the ones I like to my rotation.  I think that might be why I have not been as inspired to stay on plan.  I know I need to do this.

#TrustYourGut

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 28

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 27

by | Aug 24, 2017 | Trust Your Gut

 

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Homepage for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name.  If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story.  The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors.  I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.

This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.

Here is  Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 27

Summer is slowly sneaking past us, and soon it will be fall.  I have seen other people do challenges, and I have a few things I need to get back on track with.  One of them is my zig-zagging on the path less travelled to living a healthier lifestyle.  I don’t have kids, and I am not going back to school.  But September can be a new start for this and other areas of my life that are lacking commitment right now.

In THM, there are many different groups to belong to.  You can join based on food types, health issues, location, budget friendly, beginner, very fluffy, the main THM group and allergy issue groups.  There is even one for people that Blog about THM. I am involved in several and have not been contributing much lately.  I can share my Blog stories on their pages, but not if that is the only thing I am contributing.  I think that is fair.

I do write this to keep myself accountable, and also to help other people.  If you don’t have the same issues I have with being morbidly obese, then reading this Blog might help you learn how to be a better friend to someone like me.  It may even help you figure out what you can do to help them.

Let’s go with a big one. Do not be the food police.  Every person that is capable of feeding themselves is also capable of deciding what to eat, what not to eat, and how much of that they are going to eat.  If I am having a piece of cake at a social gathering, and someone makes me feel bad about it, I am going to eat two or three times the amount of cake I allowed for with my meal plan and insulin doses.  Saying nothing and judging by silence or a look is no better.  I eat the guilt instead of feeling it.  That is a dangerous option for me.  I am trying so hard to make better choices, but a simple thing like me having chocolate to get through a rough work day can compound to a box of chocolates at home later on.  Yes, a box, not one or two pieces.  If I bring them home, I want to gobble them up so they aren’t there to tempt me anymore.  When I think about that, it is really messed up.  But it is how I think.

I hid being a type 2 diabetic for a long time.  Now that I am open about it, I feel like people are always watching what I eat, and judging me.  If I was realistic, I would think that I am not so important in other people’s lives that they spend time critically thinking about what I am eating.  I have answered a lot of questions regarding what I am eating for lunch at work, and when it is a healthy recipe, I am proud to share.  Even if the cauliflower that I had to heat up is stinky, or someone is grossed out by the way I am assembling my cheeseburger pie.  If it tastes good, fills me, and doesn’t make me feel bad after eating it, then I am happy to share about what I am eating, and even share the recipes I love if people want to try them.

Back to September coming up.  I am going to focus more on me, and the THM plan.  What do I mean?  It is going to be hard.  I am going to have a 30 day no cheat challenge.  Eek!  I have commitment issues when it comes to being 100% on plan, but it is about time that I really put an effort into it.  At the same time, I am going to post in the groups more in September, so that I can share the blog posts that relate to THM in the groups more.  Finally, to get myself on track and stay there, I will have to prep cook.  That also needs time and energy.  If it is focused, it does not have to take a lot of either, because I am prep cooking for me, and sometimes for my husband, not an army.  Leftovers are handy for lunches, as long as I have the means of storing them properly.

One thing that concerns me is maintaining a solid balance of my blood sugars.  I am worried about lows and treating them while staying on plan.  That is a tricky path in the brambles and may require bending of the rules a bit.  If I have to pick a quick source of the wrong kind of sugar to avoid a hospital or death, I am going to have to be OK with that.  Before I start, though, I am going to hang out in the THM Diabetes group and ask some questions to make me feel better about how to treat the lows.  I am giving myself time to do this, before the official start.  I will need to start recording my blood sugars, insulin doses and keep a food diary to make this work because if I don’t know what the patterns are, it is hard to manage the blood sugar highs and lows properly.  This sounds like work to me, but if you do something consistently for 30 days it becomes a habit, and I am trying to develop better habits for a healthier lifestyle.  I wrote it here, so now I have to follow through.

Accountability.  It is time to take things seriously again.  Writing it all down every day will help me track patterns and find out how different foods affect my sugars.  I know I am not going to be 100% on plan, being me, but if I can give it my best attempt, I will have something I can be proud of working on.  So I am going to make a real effort in September. I need to refocus on a few things, and this is one of them.  Time to start planning.  Anybody else getting ready to start fresh in September?  I will cheer you on as I share my progress every week, here.  It’s time to refocus.

#TrustYourGut

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 28

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 25

by | Aug 11, 2017 | Trust Your Gut

 

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Home page for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name.  If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story.  The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors.  I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.

This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.

Here is  Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 25

I had a rough week last week.  It was one of those “hard on my head” kind of weeks.  I am struggling to dig out from under the stuff that was dragging me down.  It is hard to focus on living a healthier lifestyle when the world is crashing all around you, and pulling the rug out from under your feet.  This week was not much better, but I am turning things around.  I have made some decisions.

Sometimes there are too many things to deal with and I get overwhelmed. Or frustrated. Or angry.  I did some thinking this week,  and I made some decisions.  My anger may have got the best of me in the last two weeks, and I am still finding ways to deal with it.  Eating is not one of them.  I have struggled to make healthier choices when it comes to food.  I went to Zumba.  In Zumba, I realized my abs were not going to be happy with me the next day.  I decided that was OK, because I am really not too pleased with my abs, either.

Instead of spiralling out of control, I spent some time dealing with my feelings.  They are not all resolved, but I decided that I was not able to control some things.  I also realized that there are some things that I can control.  I did some cooking.  Tonight I made Bangin Ranch Drums.  THM is a source of healthy recipes and food.  I have been making some of the recipes over and over, and I need to get back to it.

Tonight was a good start.  A week from tonight, I will meet my new doctor.  I finally made an appointment.  It will be good to get it over, and I am hoping that it will be a good experience.  If not, I will ask for a different doctor in the clinic I go to.  I am really hoping that it works out.

I do not have a lot of information or inspiration this week.  So I will just encourage anyone that is reading this to keep going.  Keep fighting for yourself.  Keep working to let your inner beauty shine so bright that the monster doesn’t stand a chance.  Because it is a never ending struggle, and no matter what your issues are, we can only tackle the ones we have a chance at winning.  That doesn’t mean that you should throw in the towel and give up.  What it does mean, is that sometimes you have to choose your battles.  This week I took my time about it, but in the end, I picked me.  And that is the best choice I can make.

#TrustYourGut

Weekend Warrior #28

Weekend Warrior #24

by | Aug 6, 2017 | Weekend Warrior

If you have ever wondered why I picked the “Angry Tomato” pic for this series, there are a few reasons.  One is that it made me laugh, out loud.  I reacted to it, so I decided it would work.  Another is because I am fighting my way to living a healthier lifestyle, and I wanted a kitchen themed picture for this series.  I try to do the cooking and cleaning on the weekends, I find it had to work at during the work week.  I have had some success this year in my spring cleaning challenge, but as of yet, I have not finished.  I choose not to dwell on what I have not done and try to move forward because of what I have done.

I am planning my day out, dreading the return to work tomorrow.  I am a firm believer that there should be less week and more weekend.  I do not have the power or the budget to sustain a lifestyle that does not include a day job, so the reality is, I have to keep the day job, even if I would rather devote all of my time to being creative and writing.

Which brings me to my books.  I have started them, yes.  I have had an idea (finally) this morning about where to continue as I plan to write some more today.  I don’t know if I will succeed in writing enough to complete the weekend challenge I joined, but I am going to see what I could do.  That is how I entered.  This doesn’t count, as it is not progressing on my book.  I will add it to the word count as a side project, because it is writing, nonetheless. I do have deadlines with my blog, too, though and I have to do my best to keep up with it here for myself, and for my followers.  Thank you to those who are taking the time to read my Blog, and welcome to any people who are new here.  I write at least twice a week, and this is one of my regular categories. Me vs the weekend. 🙂

Yesterday I got up early, bought and delivered a birthday present to a friend.  Her birthday had been the day before, and I wanted to make sure I got to see her.  We had a good talk, but as she was working it wasn’t the same as a real visit.  I am going to try and pop over again today, as I think it would be nice.

I then tackled some indoor gardening projects.  I have read online that spiders and other bugs do not like mint plants.  A few weeks ago, I had bought six different mint plants, and my husband replanted them into new pots for me.  I have noticed that they were drying up.  I am still trying to figure out a watering schedule for them.  I watered them from the top yesterday when I was finished, and just before I started writing I watered them from the bottom.  I will have to do some online research.  While I was working yesterday I found a green “leaf eater” bug, which my husband buried in the dirt saying that it is a leaf eater, that should be the end of it.  I have my doubts.  I also found an inchworm in another one, and that was successfully relocated outside on a leaf from that plant.  Late last night I got him to move a ladybug back outside for me.  The ants and spiders are not found as frequently inside, so that is a bonus.  I am hoping it works and more bugs stay outside.

Something else was a little confusing.  There is a spearmint plant amongst the varieties I bought, and around the base of the pot on the shelf that I have it on are a lot of hard, black dots.  It is either droppings from a critter or the plant went to seed because it was so dry.  I am not sure, the black bits are no bigger than granulated sugar pieces.  They may indeed be little seeds.  I may gather them up and plant them, to see what comes up!

My husband worked a few extra hours yesterday.  He has been doing that on one of his days off to help with our budget.  I am not going to write about my work here, at least not this week, I had a frustrating week.  I am going to leave it at that, and it is also the reason I did not do any over time at my work this week.  Sometimes I do.  This week it just wasn’t going to happen.

After he was done, we picked up a few groceries.  He made us subs for lunch and he barbequed some wieners for supper.  We then headed out to spend time with some friends.  He had a guys gaming night, and I watched a movie with another friend and called it a ladies night.  Sometimes it is important to plan activities apart.  Other times, like today, we will spend more time together.  It is OK to not spend every single minute with your significant other when you have free time.  It is healthy to have different friends, hobbies and activities.  There is still a common ground for the things you enjoy doing together, but a little break here and there is something we all need.

For prep cooking today I am making Bangin’ Ranch Drums.  It is a Trim Healthy Mama recipe.  I love it, and my husband is OK with it in the rotation, but like with all of the THM recipes, he doesn’t want it all the time.  We also got buns for barbequed cheeseburgers and sloppy joes.  I have some THM sloppy joe mix already made in my freezer.  He likes Manwich.  On this, I am OK with him making his own supper.  If I am to be on plan when I eat it, I will have it with salad, not on a bun.  I may make some green bean fries this week too, as I do enjoy them as a side with the chicken.  I am still working on everything all at once but trying to be realistic at the same time.

Today I will be continuing the cat sitting job.  I also did some plant care there yesterday, they have one houseplant and it needed TLC.  I don’t know about the plant boxes on the deck, though.  They look like they have had a rough summer, and I am not sure if they can be rescued.  I may try, just to surprise my friends when they come home.  I will see how the day goes.  It is very dry, there is a no fire ban here province wide. If I do work on the outdoor plants, I will have to remember to water them.  If they don’t read this, it will be a nice surprise.  If they do, I make no promises.  It may be beyond saving.

I am a member of the Fredericton Science Fiction Society.  The FSFS gets together a little less frequently than it used to, but today we are going to meet up at a local ice cream shop.  My husband is a member too, and the group usually has potluck events year round.  With a ban on fires, we decided it would be better to go have ice cream instead of an outdoor BBQ at a local park today.  Air conditioning may or may not have been a deciding factor in this plan.

We have to do some cleaning.  While I was working on my indoor gardening yesterday, my husband was trimming the lawn.  He didn’t mow it yet.  It is still very dry so there may not be a rush for that.  He is amused that I think we should water it with the garden hose.  It is turning brown.  I just want it to be healthy, and not be so dry it is at risk for burning.  There was a thunderstorm last night, but we need more rain to remove the risk of fires, sooner rather than later.

All in all a busy weekend, but thankfully, it has been going at a slower pace this week.  It is a holiday tomorrow, and I look forward to the holiday pay that I *may have* already spent yesterday.  It is OK. I will forfeit it to the budget since I went ahead and bought some extras.  It’s all about compromise and doing what you can to make life enjoyable with what you have to work with.  Weekends are supposed to be fun and relaxing.  I think I snuck a little of each in this weekend, so it is a win for me!  What did you do this weekend?