Weekend Warrior #31

Weekend Warrior #31

 

Hello everyone!  I am kicking back and putting my feet up in a hotel in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.  I have just finished a weekend of helping my friend out at a craft show, with her knitting and her daughter’s crocheting.  It is an annual show, called Windfall Fine Art & Handcraft Market. I have worked at other craft shows myself, and I have to tell you, this one was a little different.

The show is hosted at the St. F. X. Campus in Antigonish, in a section of the arena.  There is an admission fee for the customers, and that is donated to the local Charity that donates part of the proceeds to the local hospital.  The part that really stands out for me was that there was a place for vendors to go and take a break.  Not so big of a deal by itself, until you find out that there is a snack table with hot and cold drinks, biscuits and cheese, and sweets there for the vendors to take as they wish.  It is also run by donation, and all of the proceeds from this and the raffle go to the same charity.  There are donated gifts from the vendors that they sell tickets on, which is what the raffle is for.  I did not win a prize.

We left on Friday.  I took a 4 day weekend, and am using up 2 vacation days to be able to be here.  We booked a room in a local hotel.  I wasn’t sure about it, but it has been a pleasant stay. The hotel is under new management, so there are things that could be improved upon, but these things did not make the stay unbearable.  The bed was good, there are enough pillows and towels.  It is clean.  I have been comfortable here.

We got some groceries to have food during the weekend at the show and at the hotel.  I am getting ready to make some microwave popcorn to enjoy while watching the brand new Star Trek Series Discovery.  I am looking forward to the show.

We ate at a local favourite restaurant tonight.  It is called The Snow Queen.  I knew there was one near Mother Webb’s Restaurant, but I was not aware that there was one in the town of Antigonish.

I was impressed by the food.  I got the pan fried haddock in lemon butter, garlic mashed potatoes, and a small house salad.  I was in the mood for a treat, so I had a chocolate milkshake with it.  I really enjoyed it.  The piece of fish was large, the potatoes and salad were tasty, and the milkshake filled the glass twice.  I felt like I had a haddock Thanksgiving dinner.  It was very good.

One of the highlights for me was seeing a few relatives today.  They didn’t realize I was in town so it was a bit of a surprise for them.  I was happy to see them and to have a few minutes to catch up.  If I come back again next year we may plan more than a short visit. The

The other nice memory I have was of a little girl this afternoon.  She was about 3.  Her mother had picked up a mandala vest, and I told her that I was impressed that she knew what it was.  She did because she had previously bought one for her daughter, who had outgrown it and it was time to get her another one in a larger size.  She got her daughter to try some on and then was deciding on colours.  Her daughter was spinning and hugging it and just looked so thrilled to be getting a new vest. The whole event was simply adorable.

Well, it is time to pop the popcorn and enjoy the new series opening shows.  We are going to get to see episode 1 &2.   I did buy 2 bottles of wine today, to bring home.  It was a  fine way to finish the weekend.

What did you do this weekend?

Weekend Warrior #31

Weekend Warrior #20

Yes, I know it is Monday.  But when your vacation ends on a Monday, the weekend ends on Monday too.  What a week I have had!

I will be writing about that in a guest post as soon as I can.  I am waiting for pictures from family members to put into that post, and what I write will be determined by the pics they send.

I can tell you that I went home.  I went swimming and spent a fair bit of time between visiting with my family and one of my best friends.  It was a full week.

I was supposed to be writing at this time.  I have not yet started my book.  I was very busy on my vacation while being able to relax and have fun at the same time.

This weekend was also busy.  I was on the road for most of Sunday, after staying Saturday night at my friend’s house.  We stayed there most of the week.  It was nice to spend time with her at her home.

Today was a day to make phone calls, and get my driver’s license renewed.  Then the first step back into my routine, back to Zumba class.  I go back to work tomorrow.  So this is the end of my vacation right now.

I did have a hard time in Zumba.  It has been a while since I have gone to class.  I am not looking forward to going back to work, and back to normal tomorrow.  So I was in my head in class.  I broke free for a few minutes, but it was with a heavy heart that I worked out in class today.  I have a hard time saying goodbye, and there were more than a few this weekend.  It was good to see the people I was able to see and hard to come home.

I was ready, though.  It was time to come home and feel like I was home again.  I love my friends and family, but being home is also a feeling that is good.  Another weekend has ended.  Back to life in the real world tomorrow.

 

 

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 20

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 20

 

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 20

Vacation.  It is that time of year when people are travelling and going to celebrations with friends and family.  Vacation time can be a tricky thing on days when you aren’t in control of the food and drink that you may consume.  This can pose a difficult problem if you are committed to your plan and goals.

You want to be invited to all of the events.  You want to participate in the fun.  For me, the fun includes eating and drinking the same things as everyone else.  So it is a tricky tightrope to walk on when you are trying to fit in, even though it may not be the best way for you to stay the course.

I have to constantly check my blood sugars.  That is helpful.   I can adjust the insulin I have to take to adapt to what I am eating.  But as I have written before, sometimes that dosage is a guessing game, at best.

I experienced a low last week.  It was a bad one.  Maybe more because it caught me by surprise, and also because of how long it has been since the last time I had a low.  It isn’t a simple fix, it takes time for my body to recover from a blood sugar low.  This time it took me two and a half hours to feel normal again.

Highs are no better.  I feel really tired, to the extreme of me not being able to physically stay awake.  There are times that I am literally fighting with myself to stay awake.  It is not because I am needing sleep, this too is a side effect of the high sugars, and it is a little hard to explain.  The closest I can come is that it is not something that you can control, only fight it.  I am usually aware of what is happening at the time it is happening to try and recover.  But it is not an easy thing to do.

When you have to think about the effects of everything that you eat and drink, it makes it hard to fit in at gatherings.  A lot of them have sweets and cake and even alcoholic beverages are a source of empty calories.  So what is a person to do when faced with all of these temptations?

Think about the occasion.  What would be acceptable to participate in?  What choices can you make?  Skip the cake or the ice cream?  Or eat salads earlier in the day so you can indulge a little at the celebration?

After all, only you control what you eat or drink.  It is up to you. It doesn’t matter to anyone else whether or not you eat that cake or not.  It really only matters to you.  When you are planning a vacation, keep in mind that sometimes you will have complete control over what you eat and drink, and sometimes you will have to go with the flow.  The trick is proper planning and to not go overboard when you do participate in celebrations.  Remember to drink your water too, it can help speed up the recovery time of eating or drinking off plan.  Really, it is all about balance, both on and off the scale.

#TrustYourGut

Road Trip: Nova Scotia April 2017

Road Trip: Nova Scotia April 2017

Road Trip- Nova Scotia April 2017

At the end of April, we went on a road trip.  We crossed the border from New Brunswick into Nova Scotia.  The plan was to visit with family.  When we finally had the car packed, and hit the road, I decided to take some pics along the way, and write a story about our trip.  We hadn’t gone on a road trip in a little more than 2 years, and I had gone long past the get out of the city stage.  I managed very well in those 2 years, but I enjoy travelling to see friends and family, whenever I can.

We stopped for gas just outside of Fredericton, where we live.  Snacks are necessary for road trips, as well as beverages.  A pit stop is also necessary before any road trip.  While there, I took a pic of the giant sized road sign of a familiar sight in the area.

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Moose Warning Sign. A full grown moose can total a car. It is best to avoid them if seen on the road. The trick is to see them before they cause an accident. Hence the signs.

This gave me an idea.  I would take pictures in the car as we travelled.  It is a harder thing to do than you think it is.  I was a passenger, but our trip was filled with highway driving, and a lot of missed opportunities were not able to be captured by my camera as we drove along.

I decided that I would focus on the different signs along the road, to document where we were going, and provide pics for the story.  We didn’t slow down for this.  Except for the last pic, which was a near miss itself.

We stopped in Moncton.  I wanted a coffee.  We got one here.

For a great cup of coffee in Moncton, we stopped in here.

We then drove until we crossed the border.  The first part of our trip was to make it to Nova Scotia.

At the Nova Scotia Border

Welcome to Nova Scotia, photobombed by me!

Before the NS border, there is an unusual warning sign.

Nova Scotia Border Sign about Honeybees

Honeybee Warning Sign. I wonder if they can check all the flybys?

Can you imagine bees flying to an office to check and see if they have the proper documentation to enter Nova Scotia?  They would need Bee-cases!

We were going to Truro, first.  It is between 3 and 4 hours to drive from Fredericton to Truro.  We had dinner with family and friends, and we all went back to swim in the hotel pool.  The pool was COLD.  The Hot Tub was WARM.  It tired us all out.

We spent the next morning with our friends.  We then saw our family again and spent the afternoon playing Munchkin the Board Game.  We played twice, and I had so much fun, I forgot to take any pictures of the game.  We had a potluck supper, I had made a Greek Pasta Salad with Chicken before we left Friday, and had it on ice or in fridges the whole time.  Everybody liked it, and we had some before on the road trip…with my cup of coffee in Moncton, actually, and had some left over that we took with us.  We hit the road again after supper.

Then we were off to  Dartmouth Crossing, an hour past Truro.  We checked into our second hotel room that weekend.  I was too tired to go swimming again, so we watched TV and went to sleep.  The next morning we had to get ready for a busy day.  We were going to see my husband’s Grandmother who is 108 years old!  She will be 109 in July.  She still lives in her own apartment, in the same building as Roy’s father.  We were all going to get together for lunch.

Restaurant where we had lunch with Nanny Webber, Roy's father, and his friend.

There are 2 signs here. The restaurant where we ate lunch at is to the far left of that building in the background, so the sign for it is here, and also a road sign near the place where Nanny Webber and her son, Roy’s father, Roland live. His friend Gloria lives there too, and she also joined us for lunch.

 

We met at Nanny Webber’s apartment, had a chat, and picked a place for lunch.  We moved the party.  We had lunch.  Two comical things I noticed.  Roy and Nanny Webber both ordered cheeseburger platters.  She didn’t eat all of her fries, as she told me sometimes she fills up too much on potatoes.  But she saw the lemon meringue pie, and wanted a piece, but not a full slice.  I told her Roy could eat the other half.  So they shared a slice of lemon meringue pie.  Another funny observation I made, neither one of them ate the meringue!

We then went back to the apartment, where I took this pic of the 3 Webbers together.

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Roland, Florence, and Roy Webber, l-r

We then said our goodbyes, after promising to try to get back for her birthday in July.  We will try.

One last stop before we headed home was at a fish store.  Roy is setting up a new fish tank, a 75 gallon.  He has been working on making decorations, and there is a theme.  There will be a blog about that when he is finished.  He wanted to get some live plants.  It is a freshwater aquarium.  We got a few fish too.  All the plants and fish survived the five-hour drive to get home.  They are all thriving in their new home with us.

Fish Store

Neat little aquarium themed fish store

We drove home after we finished up our purchases at this store.  It was a straightforward drive, with a few snack stops.  One last sign I want to share with you if you are ever travelling in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia.  There are lots of signs like the moose sign I posted above.  The other kind warns of places where deer like to cross the road.

Deer Crossing Sign

Deer Crossing Sign

Before I finish, I talked about the giggles we had on this trip.  I missed so many good pics because the camera was off or it was too slow to focus.   We had a wonderful trip and looking back, I wouldn’t change much about the visits we had.  I also snapped this last photo out of the back window of the moving car.  It is of an Inukshuk, an Inuit symbol for others to know that they had been at that place. So someone had been there before, and now you know that we were there too.

Inukshuk in Nova Scotia

The Inukshuk pic, taken through the back window of our moving car.

 

I said it before in another post, but it is relevant to this post also. Hindsight is 20/20, eh?

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 20

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 11

 

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 11

I bought my first tankini. I went to one store and tried on the one piece swimsuits.  I was disappointed.  So I had to go outside of my comfort zone.  The people working there were helpful.  They told me that the best thing about a 2 piece was that if you had to go to the bathroom, it was a lot easier.  I thought about that and decided to try on a tankini.

The style I chose has a tank top and shorts.  Everything is still covered.  Just like a normal bathing suit.  The shorts are comfortable.  The top was a challenge.  I need support, but didn’t find the right kind in the first few tops I tried on.  Support in a swimsuit = constrictive.  It felt too tight.  So I kept trying on different tops until I found one that fit right in that area.

Then it was the wrong style.  Of course.  So the search continued.  I settled on a striped one that looks just like a tank top.  Then I went swimming.  The top floats!  I didn’t want one that did that, and I was assured that they don’t do that now.  That was my main reason for wanting a one piece.  I was a little paranoid at first.  There is a built-in bikini support in the top.  So I just fussed with it a lot but had a good time swimming.  It will be OK for Aquacise, I think.  It will take some getting used to but I think it will work better than my old swimsuits.  It actually fits and was a size smaller than the other ones I tried.  Yay me!

While travelling this past weekend, I let the plan slide a little.  I didn’t overeat.  I ate healthy choices when I could.  I ate, and I didn’t worry too much about it.  Sometimes life takes priority.  You do what you can, and let it slide a little.  Then you have to get back on track.  For me, prep cooking helps me to stay on track.  I have to do the work so that when I want to take the easy way out, the easy way IS to stay on plan.  I have learned this while on THM, and I am the only person that can make those choices for me, so ultimately, it is up to me.

A friend introduced me to spaghetti squash.  I was reluctant to try it.  I do like squash as a side dish, but I had never tried spaghetti squash before.

It sat in my kitchen for a week before I bit the bullet and tried it.

I was pleasantly surprised!  I now eat spaghetti squash a couple of times a month.  It is good with spaghetti sauce.  It is good in spaghetti pie.  It is good in casseroles.  The verdict is that I like it.

When we have spaghetti, I have spaghetti squash instead of the pasta.  I load the sauce on it, and the parmesan cheese and eat until I am full.  Without the tired feeling that I get when I eat pasta.  I call it SPAGHETTI SALAD! What a wonderful gift my friend gave me when she told me to take that spaghetti squash home to try it.  If you haven’t tried spaghetti squash, try it with an open mind.  It really is worth it for me, and if you like it, you can thank me for the tip after you try it.

If you don’t know how to cook it, I didn’t either.  Here is a link for cooking it in the microwave or the oven:

How to cook a spaghetti squash in the microwave or the oven

I found this link and the one below in my own internet searches, all credit goes to the authors of the instructional pages.  The other method I can recommend is the slow cooker.  You can find the instructions for that here:

How to cook spaghetti squash in a slow cooker aka crock pot.

So my tip for you this week is to try spaghetti squash if you have never tried it before.  If you already love it, maybe try it in a new recipe, or try another healthy recipe that you have been hesitant to cook for whatever reason.  Just go for it!  And comment below if you did.  Let me know how it turns out!

Do you have a favourite way to cook spaghetti squash or a favourite recipe for making spaghetti squash?