Fanshawe Conservation Area: camping review

This weekend we embarked on our first ever camping trip with our daughter Rylee (17 months). The forecast for the whole weekend called for Thunderstorms so I wasn't quite sure how things were going to pan out.

I woke up early Saturday morning to get all of the groceries, then came home and prepped the food and packed the cooler. Then we loaded up the car and we were ready to go. I did pretty well with the packing, we each had one duffle bag (not crammed), pillows/blankets, tent/air mattress, camping chairs, one cooler, two reusable bags of food, and our "camping kit". Not too bad for three people (including the baby!). Oh yes of course, and her diapers. Even still the car was pretty full.

When we got to our site we were pleased with the proximity to the washrooms. We chose site number 466. It was good for what we wanted but now that we have been there and looked around I would have chosen one of the sites that are on the bend on in "the birches" section as they provided a significant amount more privacy.

Once we unloaded our gear and set up the tent within minutes there was a heavy down pour. I was thankful that the tent was already set up so we had a place to wait it out that wasn't the car. Thankfully the rain only lasted about 15-20 minutes. 

When the rain was done we opened up our "camping kit" that was a wedding gift from two of our bridesmaids. We had not had a chance to use it yet so it was fun to see what they put in it. We did not pack anything extra knowing that they probably thought of everything and they pretty much did! After going through the box we made our first camp fire and made our dinner (stew and fresh bread). It was very yummy. Saturday night we had some friends over to the site for some marshmallows and drinks.

Rylee gave us a really hard time when it was time to go to bed. She just wanted to play and didn't want to settle, especially since it was a new place and all with LOTS to look at and do. I finally got her to sleep in the Moby Wrap after doing to creative walking around the site a number of times. However, when we went to go to bed she thought that was time to wake up and play! It took about an hour to get her to go back to bed since she thought it was fun to play around and be silly. We finally all got to sleep around 11pm.

At 2 am Sean woke up with a migraine and was quite sick. The man snoring in the tent next to us woke me up then I had to pee. Rylee of course woke up when we both got up so she was wide awake. We tried everything to get her to go back to sleep but she just wasn't having it. During this time she threw her head back and smashed the back of her head on the bridge of my nose. I thought for sure it was going to be bleeding and that I would have two black eyes the next day, although I did not get any black eyes, the pain is STILL there and the area is very very tender. Rylee FINALLY went back to sleep around 5:30am and woke again for the day at 8.

We made our breakfast (yogurt parfaits) and ate them in our camping chairs. Sean did a timmies run for us and the sites around us so I had a bit of quite time just sitting and relaxing. 

Once he got back we got changed and headed out to explore some trails. We pretty much hiked all morning.

Lunch was sandwiches and vegetables. After lunch we tried to get Rylee down for a nap. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes to get her to sleep and we all passed out for 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was a much needed nap all around! After the nap we hit up the splash pad...

Once we dried off and changed it was time to make dinner. Typical hot dogs on the fire. I also had salad to go with them. I had just eaten my hot dog and then had two bites of my salad (it was really good). Rylee lost her balanced and tripped coming within inches of the fire. I leaped up to catch her (sending the salad every where) and managed to pull her back just before she fell back into it. She was totally fine and didn't even know anything happened. My salad, however, was not salvageable. BOO! I ended up having a few of the left over veggies from lunch instead. Needless to say from that point on we moved our chairs back away more from the fire to give Rylee more walking room.

After dinner we went for a hike to the beach and saw A LOT of groundhogs. 

We went back to the site when it was getting dark and made some more marshmallows. We knew it would take a while to get Rylee to bed so we started at 9pm and we were right. It took over an hour to get her to sleep but at least she slept through the night. Sean and I did wake a number of times from the loud snoring taking place next door but otherwise night number two was a success! 

This morning we packed every thing up and were out of the campgrounds by 9am. We had all the laundry done and everything put away by noon (Rylee passed out the minute we got home for a wonderful 2.5 hour nap that allowed us to get it all done). A big part of the speedy clean up was that I am pretty organized and put all the dirty clothes in one bag, all the dirty dishes in another, and so forth. Sean cleaned off the tarp and we let the bottom of the tent dry out.

Over all we consider the weekend to be a big success. One thing that we will need to invest in for sure is a bigger tent. It is fine for just Sean and I but by the time you add Rylee and her duffle bag and her diapers + diaper bag it made for a very squished camp (hence the "broken" nose). I think it would have been much easier to move around if the tent had been bigger.

I am also very proud to report that I staying on track all weekend! Again, good planning and healthy food options were a key to my success. I also made sure we had LOTS of water to drink.

I would definitely recommend Fanshawe Conservation Area to people with families as there are a lot of things to do. The only down side I would say is that the map of the park is really difficult to read, although, that could have just been us ;). There were a lot of kids there this weekend but that was to be expected since it was a long weekend. Overall the noise wasn't too bad but as previously mentioned I would choose a more secluded spot next time. 

Exercise and motivation

If you had told me a month ago that I would be going to the gym at 6 o'clock in the morning I would've said "you're crazy". But as I'm adjusting to my new schedule with work and household duties, that's exactly what I found myself doing. I had planned on doing home workouts in the evening once my daughter went to bed but that was just too hard to get motivated to do. I found myself easily making excuses and reasoning with myself as to why it could wait until tomorrow. I also found myself really really missing the gym. I love the facility that I go to and I was really missing having all that equipment available to me for my workout. 

So since I can't always go in the evening I decided that when I couldn't go in the evening I was going to go in early morning since I was awake anyways. This is taking a little bit of extra planning on my part and I've had to set out all of my clothes the night before. 

The gym that I go to is a smaller gym, so you would think that you would end up waiting longer for machines and stuff but you totally don't. Not to mention The staff knows every single one of their members by name instead of just by looking at the screen when I check in to see who I am and then saying oh hi Kelly have a good workout. 

The past few mornings there have been the same people at the gym when I get there but for the most part there's only two or three of us. On Wednesday for most of my work out I had the gym to myself. I have actually really enjoy doing my workout in the morning. It's a great way to start your day! Plus it helps to get you in a good mind set. 

           

This is a safety device for when you are working out alone. It is connected to emergency services!

At work, I have been taking 8 flights of stairs three times a day (which I thought would get easier but hasn't yet.) as well as doing some fitness classes at lunch on the off days of the gym. My mom and I have been getting out for some walks too now that the weather is nicer. 

It has been really great pushing my body this week. And I will really enjoy some rest time this weekend. I love the slate stiffness that I get in my body when I know I've worked hard!

If you had asked me 7 years ago if I would be working out this hard and taking care of my body and my health I would have smirked and commented something like "I wish". I was way too self consious to remotely wear shorts, I lived in sweats and sweaters hiding from the world. 

As I reread that last sentance I realize that it isnt even living! The things I've being able to do that I never would have been able to do before it's incredible. 

So if you're reading this and overweight and don't know where to begin, or if you have tried and failed numerous times, or if you keep starting and stopping, or you keep saying I'll start Monday you need to take a look at what is holding you back. What excuses are you using? 

Put 1 foot in front of the other and start small. One small change is all it takes. Follow that with another small change and another small change and your whole life will be revamped. I would be lying to you if I said it was easy but if we look at all of the great things in life none of them are easy. I can for sure without a doubt 100% tell you it is worth it. It is worth feeling empowered. It is worth it to be able to keep up with your kids. It is worth it to hit your goal weight and buy new clothes in a much smaller size than you ever thought you'd be ever wearing. 

So keep pushing through and don't ever give up. When you fall get up again. When you don't want to do it anymore keep going. When you're too tired and just want 10 more minutes of sleep kick your butt out of bed and get to the gym! 

Start your healthier new you today, what small change are you going to make??

Guilty eating

Over the last year I've really been working hard at making healthy food taste good. I've made a ton of new dishes and that is totally not like me. I've come across some amazing dishes because of this. 

Over the past few months I've been struggling with food guilt. After finishing a dish that is super healthy but tastes really good I find myself feeling really guilty like I've eaten something I shouldnt have eaten. Silly right? Then I recount that was in the dish, confirming it was infact a healthy choice, then I try to move on from the guilt. 

I'm not sure why the guilt started but it was suggested to me that because everything else with my weight loss right now is positive then something's gotta give. And if feeling guilty over eating something healthy is what I'm struggling with right now then just go with it. 

That's what I've been doing and it hasnt seemed like such and issue! I know that I'm putting in the work and seeing the results and that is where I draw my motivation from! Eating healthy can taste really good and there is nothing wrong with that! 

___________________________________

I've been back to work for just over a week now and things are going pretty well! I am surprised that I remembered more than I thought I would. It will take some time to get into a new routine and schedule but we are taking it easy to prevent getting burnt out. 

Anyways, short and sweet today! 

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 ;)

Meal planning and grocery shopping

I am writing this post even though it may provoke some intense teasing from people, however, if you know me you really shouldn't be surprised.

When I first started doing meal planning it took me A LONG time to do each one. Honestly, over an hour. But each week it got quicker and quicker to the point where it now takes me just a few minutes. I do two week rotations because I find that groceries are cheaper than doing it once a week and I don't really want to be bothered to grocery shop every week. I do however get fruits and veggies once a week.

I like to be very organized and I like things simple. Especially now that I am grocery shopping with a baby in tow (most times) I like to be efficient. I don't like to go to more than two stores -- I go to a cheaper store like Wal-Mart, No Frills, or Food Basics for the regular stuff and then I go to Superstore or Remark to get my produce as the produce from the other stores doesn't last very long and is not high quality. I don't get everything from Superstore or Remark because it would double my grocery bill. 

So to start I skim the weekly flyers to see what is on sale. If there are items I like then I build them into my menu plan and I also go through my freezer to see what items I already have on hand. The great thing these days is most places ad match so if there is something that I like in one store I can still get it at other stores for the same price. For example, last week I bought a box of chicken burgers at Wal-mart for $4 something even though Wal-mart's price was $10 because they were on sale in the No Frills flyer. When I plan on ad matching something I note the price first and also which flyer it was in so at the store I can check the price there. Sometimes it is just cheaper to buy it without ad matching. I know this sounds like a lot of work but honestly it is very simple -- remember I don't like complicated things!

So once I note what is in the flyers I go through my calendar to check what is on the schedule for each day before I make my menu plan from a template that I have in Excel (I love that program and use it whenever possible). By adding events from the calendar I can plan the meal around what we are doing. If I don't have time to make a full meal I will make a quick one or make a crockpot meal. If I have more time I might make a more in depth dinner. Once I make my meal plan I print out two copies, one for the fridge and one to make my grocery list from. 

When I make my list I have it broken down into sections so that I don't get to the other side of the store and realize that I forgot a produce item that was hiding at the bottom of my list. I cross off each meal one at a time on my spare copy once I have added what I need to my list so I never miss anything. If I don't know if I already have something I put a ? next to it and check before I leave. 

Then when I am at the grocery store I can focus on getting my items and getting out of the store. I have tried using my phone for a grocery list to reduce carrying extra paper but honestly I really like the paper. I have had it happen more than a few times where I have accidentally erased half my list on my phone then have no idea what I needed. By having the paper there is no way to erase part of my list!

I also leave some wiggle room so that I can buy things that are on sale (not necessarily in the flyer) to put in the freezer for a later date. You can also see that on my menu plan Thursday nights are listed as Flex nights. Since I don't always feel like eating what is on the menu that night I can pick a different nights dinner and make it that night instead. Or if we end up eating out on a night that I had already bought the groceries for then they don't go to waste because I will have it Thursday night (hopefully that makes sense).

The other thing I keep (also in excel) is a meal data base. I have different categories of meals and I can mix and match especially when we are looking for some new ideas. I also use a board on Pinterest (can't get enough of that site) so that I can keep new recipe ideas handy. I try to add in one every two weeks. 

Maybe this all makes me a nerd, but hey, I'm okay with that. This makes my life much simpler and it helps me to save a lot of $ that is often wasted at the grocery store. What makes it even more simple is that my breakfast is delivered right to my door, no grocery store needed! If you are going to give it a try remember that it will take some time at the beginning. 

If you want a copy of my menu plans send me an e-mail or inbox message with your e-mail address so I can forward it on to you.  

Until next time!

Florida

Sorry for being MIA the past week or so but I was running around trying to get stuff done and didn't think to post. I have a few updates:

1. I found an add on Kijiji and went to see the guys baby stuff. I got a jolly jumper exersauser, baby swing, leap frog play table and little computer thing for Rylee all for $80. Super score! We borrowed the exact same jolly jumper from a friend and she LOVES it so I had to get it when I saw it. It was all REALLY dirty though and took me about an hour to clean and sanitize but it all looks brand new now! 

2. My sister, Tara, and I spent all Sunday afternoon making apple crisp with fresh apples and it was very yummy!

3. Rylee had blueberries on Saturday night and did a big blueberry poop on Sunday. She poops every morning like clock work but Monday...nothing...Tuesday...nothing. All the way until today! I have her a few jars of prunes and that got things going for her! You know your life has changed ALOT when you become very enthrawled with baby poop. 

4. We made it safely to Florida! We got here yesterday afternoon and went for a swim and got unpacked and settled in. Then we went to the wedding "kick off" event which was a kick ball game followed up by dinner on a patio. 

I was SO happy when it was time to go to bed because I was sleeping on an air mattress again. I love sleeping on air mattresses even more than my own bed at home. 

Today we went and got groceries (lots of healthy stuff to ensure I will stay on track) and then went for a swim again and had a hot shower. It feels nice to just kick back and relax. Plus it helps having so many extra hands to play with Rylee -- perhaps I might even take a nap one day! 

Tomorrow is the wedding and we will probably get our hair and nails done just for fun -- I can't wait to see how Kari has decorated everything! Not to mention how cute Rylee will look in her pink dress! 

I'll leave you with this photo of Rylee in the pool:

A results update

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone had a good weekend! We went away for the weekend and had some really great family time. We got some shopping done, and went to a place that I hadn't been in a long time. It was a lot of fun and I am really glad we went away. One of the places we went you get to try fresh made fudge, and it was amazing. 

We walked around a lot, I kept drinking my water and made sure I wrote down everything I ate and stayed on track. It was great to be able to know that I can go away for a weekend and not blow it - but still just eat fairly normal, with a few little treats of things I might not get normally.

So as you know I have been growing my own business with a company called Nutrie that has 3 amazing products. I've been taking them regularly a
s well as focusing on making one small change and making this a life style change and not just a diet. Even when I lost weight before, looking back, I can see how I still treated it as a diet where as now it is very much a life style change. I made a proclamation that I was going to loose 80 pounds total to get back to my goal and I do that by a combination of weight watchers and taking the Nutrie product as their philosophies are actually very very similar so the product complements the program very well. 

Anyways, here are the numbers:

Total weight loss since starting product: 14.4 pounds
Total inches lost since starting product: 13.25

I am VERY happy with these results. Although I may not be dropping weight as fast this time as I was last time there are a few key reasons for this -

1) I am focusing on having a lot of protein, which keeps me fuller longer, but also helps to build muscle. When I lost weight last time, a lot of that was muscle and I got fairly weak. This time I feel very strong.

2) I am making small changes that add up to a life style change, so that when I get to my goal I will have an easier time of staying there, instead of putting it back on.

3) The type of exercise and length of exercise that I do has changed. Before I was married, had my own place, or a baby I was able to devote 1+ hour EVERY day to intense exercise where as now I do go to the gym when I can but I get out and walk more than I used to.

I am not sure if I told you guys this or not, but for my 25 pound loss prize I am going to buy myself an ipad mini. This has helped to keep me focused as it is something I really want, but instead of just going out and buying it, I am working for it. Of course I will use the tools to help me in my business but also along my weight loss journey so I thought it was very fitting. 

If you are interested in learning more about the Nutrie products I can send you a quick 14 minute video or you can check out my website at fuelyour.automaticbody.com. Message me for more details.

I hope you all have a happy and healthy day!

This girl is on FIRE

I am SO on fire. I've been tracking my food, focusing on protein, getting all my water in and feeling REALLY good about everything! I love how much better I feel when I eat healthy! Not to mention the extra energy I have.

We are in the middle of doing a kitchen reno so yesterday I went to get a price on how much the counter top was going to cost us. The Rona at the other end of the city is going out of business so they are having a big sale. We went there today to see what we could get that we still needed. We walked away with two new brooms, new threshold for our kitchen floor, a new sink, and wire to re-wire our thermostat. I was pretty pleased with what we were able to get - especially when it was all 10-40% off. We still have some things to go but it is looking good right now. 

Today is a fairly laid back day - it's quite chilly outside so I don't know if I will be getting out for a walk or not. It's a very good day to curl up with a hot cup of tea.