You spent how much?

Mother nature has decided over the last few days to grace us with A LOT of snow! At least it is not wet miserable snow, but in fact the light fluffy stuff that is really pretty -- later to turn into miserable slush.

I have been doing my workouts this week as planned although my toe is really hurting. It is bruised all the way through so we have had to modify some of the exercises in order to get through the workouts. I am bent and bound to be down another 25 pounds by March 1. In the next week or so we are going to build a new menu plan for me so that my meals are more balanced. 

This may look easy but it was really hard -- my legs were shaking badly, given that I had just pumped out 20 deep squats before going right into the wall sit!

My trainer is going to be away for a few weeks so I will be working with a different trainer...I am excited to see her style and keep pushing myself hard.

Okay so a bit of background on the story I'm about to tell...about 5 years ago there were a few moms at my church that had the same Lulu Lemon bag as a diaper bag. Before we were even trying to get pregnant I decided that I really liked the bag and wanted it as well. By that point the store was no longer carrying it and it became impossible to find. I have looked in every outlet Lulu Lemon I've been by and every regular store as well just on the off chance they have it. I have posted on facebook groups, bulletin boards and just about everywhere I can think of to find it with no luck. I have bought 3 cheap diaper bags trying to hold out for this one that I wanted to badly, but they break and rip so easily. I finally decided to just give up and buy a good one that wasn't the beloved Lulu Lemon one that I wanted. 

I looked everywhere -- even making a trip far side of the border to find a diaper bag that I liked, knowing I was going to spend between $100-$200 for a really good one that would last through Rylee and the next child (when ever that is, and no we are not expecting). I couldn't find one I really liked and I couldn't get my mind off of the Lulu one. I was destined to have cheap diaper bags the whole time I had decided. 

THEN, the other night when I was at the mall with my sister and walked by Lulu Lemon. They had just redone their store, so even though we weren't going to buy anything we went in to check out the new lay out. I glanced over at the "bag" wall (it's pretty much habit now when going in or near that store) and OH MY GOSH -- there was a bag that looked VERY similar to the bag I had wanted SO badly. It was not the exact same it was actually a bit smaller which works out better for me. AND it was in purple! EVEN BETTER!

I saw the price tag, even though I knew how much they cost, and was like I don't think I can spend that much on a bag (WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?). And almost walked out of the store with out it (did you catch that almost?). The lady said they reason they are so hard to find is each store only gets 3 (I don't know if that is true or not but it was enough to hook me). So I bought it. 

I haven't 100% made up my mind if I am keeping it, I have left the tags on it and it is still in the bag in case I change my mind, but after that much looking I would kick myself for years if I don't keep it. Not only that by the time I keep buy junky diaper bags for the rest of this baby and next I would spend WAY more than the cost of the bag. Lulu lemon will also repair it if it breaks or rips...BONUS!

So now you know my long story and can understand why I was SO excited the other night when I saw this bag yet so torn because of the cost. Thankfully There is more than enough $ in our "Rylee" account to cover the cost of it, which takes away some of the guilt (you know, we don't have to go without groceries because I bought this bag haha).

Today Rylee is 9 months old. I can't believe that! Where does the time go? She weighs in at 16lbs and 3oz and is 28.5 inches long. My little girl is growing up too fast, next thing I know she'll be going off to post secondary school!

Oops!

It has been just over a week since I posted. Sorry about that! Life has really gotten in the way. 

We are SO close to being done our kitchen renovation. So between that and business stuff the past week writing has really not been an option. But! Don't worry! Things at home are settling down again a bit before ramping up for the holidays so hopefully I can keep you entertained again. 

Our kitchen renovation started out SO small - honestly we just wanted a cheap make-shift floor to last us a few years until we replaced the whole kitchen but then we decided that we might as well remove the wall before we do the floor and it just snow balled. But now it is almost all done. And I'll give you a little sneak peek:

We still have to put up the curtains and paint the bottom of the island and that will be the two pops of colour. 

Speaking of the island I had a slight mishap last night. I was priming the island and part of it slid off the place I was painting and landed right on my second toe on my right foot. OW! The way it landed and where it landed has caused quite a painful experience. 

Last week was my first week with my new trainer at Anytime Fitness. So far so good! We had 3 sessions last week and I actually REALLY enjoyed them. On Saturday we even did the session together which was fun and kept me going! Even though I hurt my toe quite badly last night and probably will not be able to put my foot in a shoe yet that is not going to stop us at tonight session! We are still going to do a workout but it will be modified to upper body and core. We are going to crush this next 25lb goal - injury or not. That is totally not something I would have done before. I would have sat with my feet up and rested till I was fully better. NOW, saying that you obviously need to rest appropriately but don't let it be an excuse to do nothing. 

The training at Anytime London is really above and beyond a "big box" gym because they do such individual plans and really care about your success. Not that "big box" gyms don't -- it's just a different setting on a smaller scale and they are more invested in you so it's not "just another client". I also love how dependable they are. Anyways enough about them but if you are in London you really should check out their gym. 

On a side note: my Christmas cards are ready to go and just waiting for the 1st of the month which is also when our Christmas tree will be decorated and getting our house ready for the holiday season! 

We got a DUMPING of snow yesterday...

So we stayed inside and had grilled cheese for lunch. 

Anyways I'll write again soon - I promise! 

My fitness goals

Like many people I have a list of goals that I want to achieve for my life. I have a list of five main goals that are very important to me. Weight and fitness is one of the goals. I'll lay out exactly what my weight/fitness goals are:

Weight:

My first weight goal is to drop 25 more pounds by March 1, 2014 by following the automatic body program and working out.

My second weight goal is to loose 56 more pounds (that includes the 25) and get back to my goal weight. I don't have a dead line for this one as I will set that on March 1st when I have reached my next 25. At this point I should be back into my size 8 clothes which is very average for my height. I have a large bin of basically new clothes waiting for me...calling my name!

My third weight goal is to maintain my goal weight. 

Fitness:

My first fitness goal is to increase my upper body strength.

My second fitness goal is to increase my flexibility.

My third is to tone everywhere in general. Since I have a lot of loose skin it will take some time, but I am confident I can do this.

I also want to pick a physical goal like doing a mini triathlon, or running a race ect. But I don't quite know what I want it to be yet.

______________________________________________________________________________

My biggest concern is to get the weight off and focus on living a healthy lifestyle. Which I have already been working on with the automatic body program, making one small change, and weight watchers and have been having good results. Now it's time to kick it up a notch!

I am SUPER excited that I am going to be starting with a personal trainer again. I know when I worked out hard before I felt great. This time will be different though for a few reasons. I am going to be working with a new trainer who has very clear goals for our sessions and what we want to accomplish. He is listening to what I want but will also put in things that he knows will help as well. He is as committed to my goals as I am and will be reliable and consistent. We are going to change up the workouts every time so that we aren't just doing the same exercises or even types of exercises week after week. 

Today we met up as an intro and did my measurements, "starting weight" (starting weight with him, although not my automatic body starting weight) and went over what my goals are and a rough plan. Monday we are going to do our first session so he can see where I am at and make a more detailed plan to follow. I'm really pumped to get started and take my weight loss and fitness goals to the next level. 

He says that we will crush my 25 pound goal -- I'll hold him to it and he'll hold me to it!

So although I really liked my old trainer, it wasn't the right fit. I'm ready to get serious, and my new trainer is ready to help me with that goal.

Follow me on my journey!

Kooking in the kitchen

My cousin Carolyn would be proud of me. We spoke a while ago about collecting amazing recipes but never using them. Lately I've been focusing on adding new recipes into my menu plan and I've had some really great success. I previously wrote about my Greek chicken that was very good and here are some other new ones I tried:

Peanut butter chocolate chip blizzards with Greek yogurt. This was amazing. 

Meat sauce with tons of veggies done in the crock pot. I put this over spaghetti squash. 

Tonight's dinner was amazing. Spinach dip grilled cheese with asparagus fries. Oh wow this was SO yummy and will be added to our rotation I think. 

I have a few more things to try put into this weeks plan -- like zucchini chips for example. I am not usually one to experiment with foods or new recipes but I'm really glad I have tried these. 

I have also decided to bring new recipes when going to holiday events to keep trying more things. I have some great desserts I want to try. 

Today Sean and I went to the states early this morning. I needed to pick up some things and I finally found Rylee's Christmas dress (but you will have to wait to see it closer to the time). 

Thankfully we got back to Canada just before 11am so we were able to pull over and observe a moment of silence while listening to a radio tribute. 

Then we went to work on our kitchen cabinet doors at Sean's parents farm. When I got home I had a shower and made dinner before having a team meeting. 

My parents gave me their old vacuum that is very different from mine and does a lot more so I was excited to use that tonight as well. I was able to clean things that I haven't been able to clean before like my fake flowers from my wedding, my art work and my lamp shades. I am one happy camper because it makes my life much easier and I didn't have to buy it!

Now I am enjoying a nice coconut yogurt (with added coconut as well) in front of the fire. It has been a good day. 

Yes. I eat it with a baby spoon so it lasts longer. 

Greek Chicken

Good evening,

Last night I was able to go to a friends house for dinner. I was really excited because I haven't been able to see her or her little girl in a few months because of all the travelling we have been doing. 

I had a new recipe I wanted to try so I volunteered to bring dinner. I made Greek chicken and lemon rice and she made a Greek salad. 

I followed a recipe I found on Pinterest:

1 c. plain greek yogurt

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 medium lemon, frozen, then zested

1/2 tsp salt

freshly cracked pepper (I just used regular pepper)

1/4 bunch fresh parsley

Desired amount of chicken

I doubled the recipe for four large chicken breasts.

Mix all ingredients together in a zip lock freezer bag. Throw in thawed chicken and coat. Place chicken in a glass cooking dish and cook at 425 for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooking thoroughly.

A lot of people have been saying to me lately how inspiring it is that I have been able to make such healthy choices and want to know how I do it. Honestly the answer is the Nutrie products. I have been taking them for a few months now and they make me feel amazing. I have energy that I never had before and because of that I can put the effort into meal planning and grocery shopping and making it fun! I don't have cravings like I used to either. I sometimes think "oh I could go for ice cream" or something like that but it is nothing more than a fleeting thought. I no longer get cravings that I obsess over. 

I have also been attending weekly weight watchers meetings because I enjoy the girls in my meeting and the program fits PERFECTLY with my automatic body program. I use the weight watchers to count my points and track my daily food intake and the automatic body program to focus on making small changes that work for me. They don't need to be done together, you can just do the automatic body program, but personally I love my WW girls and would miss seeing them every week ;)

Just call me Suzy Homemaker!

What a great weekend so far and it's only Saturday!

Friday is the beginning of my week for counting points so for me it is very important to have a solid Friday and Saturday to set my eating tone for the week. For some reason if I use too many of my weekly points on Friday or Saturday I have a hard time staying on track the whole week. Yesterday early morning I went to the grocery store with my meal plan and list and got all my healthy must haves. 

We are in a trade show this weekend with Nutrie and I knew I was going to be there all day -- right across from a cotton candy machine and popcorn booth none the less. So, I planned ahead and packed some of my favorite foods for lunch. This was my food for the day:

We had a lot of fun at the show talking to people and I think the best part was seeing the look of surprise on all of their faces when they tried the protein shake because it actually tastes good! I also had a great time with our other distributors. Check out our booth:

Before I left this morning I put a roast in the crock pot with some veggies then when I got home all I had to do was mix up some gravy and we had a very yummy healthy dinner. So not only did I stay 100% on track yesterday but I also stayed 100% on track today. I think for a treat tonight I will have my fuel heated up like rich hot chocolate. So yummy. 

Tonight we were going to go to a service at our church but Sean's parents just got home from Florida so they are coming over for a visit. Then we are just going to relax before we do it all again tomorrow!

At the trade show we are in there are tables set up by moms selling their used stuff. I went right over there first thing and got Rylee 5 new sleepers for $10, a large story book for $1, and a DVD for $2. Then when we walked around the place I bought her two owl hats that are just too stinking cute to pass up! I will post a picture of them soon!