Different ways to measure

Hey all!

Hope you are having a fantastic weekend. Mine has been fairly good so far.. I went hiking/trail walking with Amber on Saturday and then just hung out with the family today. It was great!

So I realized this month I have only lost .4lbs. That's not a lot. I'm not too bothered by it as I am feeling pretty comfortable with myself. I decided to do my measurements and I was VERY happy that I did! I am down 7cms this month alone. Holy shit!! That makes a total of 60 cms (and I started tracking measurements 3 months after I started losing weight.. dummy!)

That is a lot for a month. The hard work is paying off :). It feels damn good! The lack of eating out and the consistent working out and zumba is making a difference.

I am happy about that.

I also feel pretty good wearing shorter shorts than I am used to. I've never been able to wear shorts this short! I hate the look of shorts bunching up in your crotch so I was always afraid. And guess what... that didn't happen!! Makes me feel fantastic!!

My challenge is going.. okay. I have forgot to track before I ate a few things but I remember while I was eatting and pulled a "oh shit!" and tracked right away. At least I'm not forgetting and am tracking everything!

My other challenge with Autumn is going well. I am 3/4 for my workouts this week. On Wednesday Jenn and I went for an hour long walk with Noah which was fantastic.. Saturday I went hiking with Amber.. Today I did a 30 min workout on the treadmill.

Next workout will be Tuesday.. Zumba!

Should work out well and finish with a great success!!

Anyways.. It's almost 9 and that means True Blood time!! YES!!!!!

Gonna run.. toodles!

Steph

Day 19-24

Once again I had a busy, busy week/weekend and was unable to post. Thought it was worth it. I got to spend time with the people I love and also got to spend quality time with my family.

Day 19-Wednesday
Zumba, Zumba, Zumba!! My favourite activity to do. I put in my short 25 minute DVD and shook my booty until I was dripping in sweat.. DAMN IT FELT GOOD!!

Day 20-Thursday-

Thursday I didn't get up to TOO much. Mom and I went to visit Jenn, Brandin and baby Noah. He's so perfect. I love him soooooo much already. Didn't have too much time to spare so I just did a 20 minute leisurely walk with my mom over the lunch hour :) It was nice


Day 21- Friday
I look forward to Friday's SOO much. Especially fridays of a long weekend! Of course I dance down the steps at the end of the day and sing as I walk to my car :). I went home and mom and I went for a 55 minute power walk. It felt SOOOO good! I then went to Pete's house that evening and we chilled out and watched a few of our shows :).


Day 22- Saturday

Saturday was INSANELY hot. It was soo hot even just sitting in the sun made me drip in sweat. I decided to wait until the evening to do any exercise and even then Pete and I just did a leisurely stroll to the aquarium and then to Pita Pita to get dinner. I was still hot after that :| I also did about 20 minutes of cleaning that day. Felt good to be able to move indoors without feeling hot as heck.

Day 23- Sunday

I told Pete on Saturday I was going to be doing zumba this day. And he said .. and what if you DON'T do Zumba? My reply "There is no NOT doing zumba.. there is only doing!" And that is what I did. I zumba'd for exactly 45 minutes! And it felt great!! I also got to enjoy some family time as it was my Omi's birthday which is ALWAYS fun. I'm so lucky to have such a fabulous family.

Day 24- Monday

I was really bad yesterday. I did not eat very well at all. Everyone on weight watchers has bad days. If it wasn't for those bad days we wouldn't really be able to get back on track and realize what needs to be done.

Pete and I went to Booster Juice yesterday and then went for a 30-40 minute stroll in Waterloo Park which was nice. Always love spending time with him <3


Overall it was a good weekend. I could have been a bit better in the healthy eatting department but eh, oh well!

What can I do now but improve??

:)

Have a good week. I'll update after I do Zumba tonight!

Steph

Day 18

Hi all,

This is going to be a quicky as I'm pretty tired and about to finish some cleaning.

Instead of doing my usual Zumba like I usually do on Tuesday nights I decided to take advantage of the AMAZING weather and went for a power walk with my pup. We powered through 25 minutes and then mom and I went shopping :) hehe. I didn't buy anything but mom bought me this awesome foot scraper thingy (I have dry heels :( they suck!) It is effing AWESOME. It's metal instead of pumice which is different and works really well.

When I came home I cleaned up my space and organized a bit. I guess that also counts as activity.

I wanted to touch on my week. It was hard. I was either very busy and rushed or was very lazy and hungry. I stuck to my points and didn't use ANY of my 49 points.. whoohoo!! I also earned 36 activity points this week

*shakes my booty* YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.


o.O

I know I'm weird.

It was hard still though. Hard to stay on track and hard not to give in to all of my cravings. I don't really WANT to weigh in tomorrow but I need to face the music and own up to whatever I did.. good or bad. It's part of being a weight watcher. I have even thought about NOT weighing in but know it would be a stupid mistake and the following weeks weight loss just wouldn't be realistic.

So with that said.. I am going to weigh in tomorrow!! I am going to own my week good or bad.

I will post tomorrow and let you know how it went.

Toodles!

Steph

Day 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 AND 17

Day 12- Wednesday

I felt like poop on Wednesday.. I was let down from my gain and didn't feel like doing anything. Mom and I went to Costco and then to Fairview mall..(had fun OF COURSE). I got home and was exhausted. I knew I could have counted what I had done in walking as my activity of the day but I didn't. I forced myself to work out.  I must have whined (internally) at least 20 times how I didn't want to work out and one day wouldn't kill me and how I should just be lazy and watch TV.

Did I?

NOPE. I got off my ass.. got on my runners and got my ass on that treadmill and powered through for 30 minutes. I then put my ass on that exercise ball and worked out for another 15. And how did I feel after that? FANTASTIC!!!!!! GREAT SUCCESS!!! Don't expect results from excuses!

I was sooo happy I pushed myself to do that because I know the next day I would have regretted not doing it.

Day 13- Thursday

Thursday was a pretty busy day for me. I knew I wouldn't have time after work to do my workout as I was going straight to Jenns and there was a chance I would have to stay the night. I decided to get my activity in at work. I carried a bunch of books over to the opposite side of the office and rearranged and cleaned this bookshelf. I also got rid of about 200 magazines. Wasn't much but it still took me 40 mins :).

Thursday night I hung out with my bestie and we had a fabulous time (as always!) She is the best friend a girl could ever have :)

Day 14- Friday-

Friday was another crazy busy day :). I rushed to Jenns house immediately after work to dog sit her dogs for a few hours as she was in the hospital having a BABY!! Yes Friday was the day Jenn gave birth to Noah. He is so precious and beautiful. I love him sooo much already! I was sooo lucky to be able to see him. I went in with her parents so was one of the very first (I am so blessed). Jenn is such a champ!!! So happy for her and Brandin. They are going to make the most amazing parents ever :)

Friday I got in my activity at work by setting up our lunch room for the potluck and carrying food back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. This was the one AND ONLY time I have been happy that no one offered to help.. gave me more time to build up activity points lol I'm so lame. It was a great time though and everybody enjoyed themselves. And they enjoyed my mango/avocado salsa which was a huge hit!

Day 15- Saturday

Saturday I was pretty exhausted so I had a slow day. I woke up.. had breakfast and relaxed a bit. I ended up doing my zumba video which made me feel great :) (as per usual). I was also very lazy for the rest of the day and mainly watched Mad Men haha. I'm a bum.

Day 16- Sunday

Sunday was great! I woke up.. gave mom her Mother's Day presents and made her a crepe breakfast. It was great! I then took my doggy for a 35 minute power walk down the road. I also ended up going for a 20 minute stroll with Pete later that day.

It was such a beautiful day and it was really nice to sit out in the sun with my lovely family. I enjoy their company sooo much :). They are so special to me.

Went to Pete's house after dinner and watched Game of Thrones which was INSANE and then Mad Men which was pretty awesome as well :). Kinda sucks I have no episodes to catch up on :P

Day 17- Monday
Monday was stressful and busy. I counted my activity as my grocery shopping and lugging a shit load of groceries up the stairs.. That is always a fun job!! :|

Volunteering was okay. Crazy at first but I ended up having a very fun time.

Anyways.. there is my update :)

I will post tonight again.

Toodles

xo

Stephie

Zumba, Zumba, Zumba!!

Does anyone else want to yell/sing out ZUMBA ZUMBA ZUMBA!!! (and possibly jump up and down) when they hear someone talking about Zumba? You'd have to actually do zumba to understand what I'm talking about but it is a fun feeling :). As you can see by the title.. I will be talking about Zumba (and other things of course). I did Zumba for the 2nd day in a row and I feel FANTASTIC!! It's so much fun and the time flies by when you are doing it! I really do recommend trying out a class if you get a chance. It is for people of all shapes, sizes and ages. Plus a 45 minute class you can gain 11 activity points!! HOLY CRAP right? The most fun form of exercise around. hahah. Anyways.. This week was a bit harder than usual. It always is when there is a holiday. I stayed on track and tracked EVERY SINGLE THING I ate. I may not have eaten the healthiest I ever have but I stayed within my points and only used some of the activity points I earned.

 Friday morning Pete and I drove to Kingston to spend time with his family.. we returned late Saturday evening. During that time I had Mcdonalds (I know! but I only ate half a meal), Fish and Chips (good friday) and an Easter dinner. And may I say I DON'T REGRET A THING! Why? Because I tracked and had fun! This is a lifestyle change not a lifestyle bootcamp. If that makes any sense.. haha.

I earned 27 activity points this week and only used 10 of those. I didn't touch any of my 49 points. I preplanned every single meal I ate(this weekend) and I didn't eat past 9pm. It was easy. I stayed on track. I planned. I succeeded.

Sunday was Easter dinner with my family and we had turkey (as usual). It was fantastic!! Once again I planned in advance so was able to enjoy myself.. ANDDD I had 3 points left at the end of the day :) It feels good to be in control.

Tomorrow is my weigh in day. I have to admit that I am not expecting a loss as 3.5 lbs in one week is a lot! I feel as though no matter how hard I tried I probably wouldn't drop but we will see. As long as I didn't gain! lol. Everyone keeps saying how they are noticing a difference and my friend Sam told me today that everytime she sees me I look so much smaller! Such a great thing to hear!!

 Anyways, I am going to go.. Ringer is back on and I am addicted!!! Gotta go.

 Steph

My week: update!

OK! I am going to sit here and write a blog post from beginning to end! I have started soooooo many in the last few days and have been too busy to finish.

So I weighed in yesterday and didn't lose anything.. but I did stay the same which is okay. Although I do want to lose instead of maintaining.. a gain did not happen :) So it's okay! Plus I've been fairly active lately so it doesn't bug me as I feel I may still be gaining muscle.

A lot has happened over the last week starting with last friday my beautiful cousin Becky got married and it was an amazing event. She looked so beautiful and I'd be lying if I said I didnt cry at least 3 times during the ceremony. YES I AM A BABY AT WEDDINGS. hehe It was so nice to be able to spend time with my family but dammmmmn I am learning how much I hate walking in heels. They're so pretty but the next day my feet hate me! OH WELL :)

On Saturday I decided not to get a workout in as I was feeling crappy and a bit hungover and I was in pain (because of my shoes). Though I did go for a 15 minute walk with my man that evening.. at least something! :)

I honestly can't remember much about Sunday but it was a beautiful day and I got to spend time with my bestie which is always awesome :)

Monday was good.. I wasn't able to get in much of a workout as I work 9-5:30 and then leave to go to ROOF and am there until 10:30. I came home and decided to do a 15 minute work out on my exercise ball. I did situps, butt lifts (?) and the ones where I pass the ball up between my arms and legs (that ones the hardest). I felt good knowing I was able to get a workout in though.

Tuesday night mom and I decided to do our new Zumba DVD and we had a lot of fun! I recognized a lot of the moves from the classes which was good :) The only difference was that we didn't have 6 huge fans blasting us from above so I was sweaty as hell! Nothing feels as good as the feeling you get after pushing yourself in a workout. That feeling afterwards is unreal :).

I also got to watch my show Ringer which is sooo amazing and I HIGHLY recommend you watch it. It's seriously addicting and I can't seem to get enough!

Wednesday was interesting. I tried something I had never done before and was mildly scared to try. Most of the people who know me pretty well know that I HATE and am afraid of ice.. especially falling. I had a bad experience growing up. Anyways, I got on the ice and tried it and may have spazzed out a bit but finally got the hang of it and had fun! AND I only fell twice.. ! hehe

We played for about 2.5 hours which was fun. I calculated it as a low impact activity and got 8 pts (I calculated 2 hours for that). I was surprised and happy.. but man do my thighs hurt today lol. I'm happy I did it and am even happier that I actually had fun! I did have a great, supportive team which made a WORLD of a difference. Thanks Bart and Nadiya if you are reading this :)

I got to spend time with my bestest friend last night :). It was a great time as usual. I splurged for dinner last night and had Harveys. Seems bad but I did make the better choice. I got a original burger and fries which I believe was 18 or 19 points instead of a poutine which would have been 22 points ALONE. It seems like a lot but I did have a lot of points left over :) And had extra activity points. It was sooooooooooooooooooo worth it to :)

It was a great evening and I am looking forward to our hangouts tonight.

I wanted to ask.. does anyone else notice 11:11 on the clock? I've gone weeks with seeing it every single day.. weird...

Anyways.. I wanted to add I want to start making a weekly WW goal. This week I want to earn at least 25 activity points :). I've already earned 8 and am doing Zumba again tomorrow so we shall see.

I will keep you updated :)

Stephie

Day 30- Challenge COMPLETE!!!

YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!! I have completed my challenge and finished 30 days of workout!!

I feel fantastic! I've noticed sooo many changes and I'm soo proud of myself. Some of the things I've noticed are:

• I can last longer on the treadmill without getting winded.
• I look forward to working out!
• My legs feel toned!
• 1st Zumba class I thought I was going to die after 20 minutes. I just made it through an hour feeling great and wanting more!!
• Planning workouts ahead of time.
• Feeling sexy in my clothes!!

My favourite is that last one ;).

I feeeeeeeeeeeel good na na na na na na na.

You get it! haha

Anyways.. Tonight Mom, Amber and I went for a Zumba class and we had a BLAST. I pushed through the entire class and enjoyed every single minute of it. Even when my arms were burning and I wanted to scream. haha. I honestly wanted to do another class after :|. What a difference!!

:)

Thanks for your support and I encourage you to start up your own 30 day challenge. Of anything! Challenge yourself to something for 30 days! Help yourself build a habit :)!

I will be having another challenge soon. I haven't thought of what it will be but you know I will keep you informed.

Good night!

Steph

This ones a long one.. Day 24/25/26/27/28

I am a blog slacker :|

Though as I said before this was one of the busiest weeks of my work life!! Any spare time I had was used to relax or spend with the ones I love :)

Let me catch you up!

Wednesday was a LOT of fun. We had our Primal Leap Day Potluck and had a great turnout and the food was awesome!!! At around 2:15ish the power went out and no one really knew what to do so we just kind of chilled out. Ended up with a bunch of people hanging out in the open area playing music, singing and doing shots. It was a ton of fun :). I left at 4:30 and went to visit my grandparents for dinner. I didn't stay too long as there was a freezing rain warning.

Wednesday night I got my workout in. I did a 30 minute work out on the treadmill. (my go to lately).

Thursday was the busiest of all days. I had a very tight deadline and had to submit things to my boss. As usual my hangouts with Jenn are thursday nights so I had to go for a quick walk during work. I ended up getting 5 minutes in and ended up staying an extra hour and a half. Did I mention how crazy busy I was? lol. We also started a coding challenge at work that day so I needed to support that. By the time 6:30 rolled around I was so happy to be able to leave and go visit my best friend Jenn :). We had a fun evening as usual!

Friday was the biggest relief for me. I wanted to do a happy dance. It was still a very busy day but it ended very well :). We picked the winners of the coding challenge and those who won really deserved it! I came home expecting to do Zumba with my mom on PS3 but apparently you need a PS3 move thing to go with it. (which just doesn't seem worth the extra $60). I told her to return it and we'll get the DVD kit. Instead I opted for another 30 minute workout on the treadmill. I went to Petes that night and had a jolly old time as usual. He really is fabulous and makes me feel incredible! I'm such a lucky gal!

Saturday I had expected to go to St. Thomas with my grandparents to visit my great aunt and uncle but apparently we were expecting a storm so they cancelled. Instead I decided to get my workout in early. I went downstairs on got on the treadmill for 30 minutes while watching the Bachelor. Anyone else watch this show? Anyone else think he's the stupidest idiot ever? He makes REALLY BAD choices. But to each their own I guess.

Anyways I got that in pretty early and decided to read for a bit. I became addicted to this book on Friday.. called I've got your number- Sophie Kinsella. She is my favourite author and writes the most hilarious books ever. I highly recommend them to any female who likes chiclit. I started this book on Friday and JUST finished it. It was soo hard to put down.

On Saturday Pete came to pick me up around 2ish and we went to the grocery store to pick up supplies for dinner. We made Steak, twice baked potatoes and bruschetta. I must admit that it was friggin awesome and we both did an amazing job :).

I actually had a "first time" experience last night. And no it is NOT dirty (I'm looking at you stef hahahah). I watched Lord of the rings for the first time. Pretty good movie :)

Anyways I kinda want to speed this up as my body HURTS right now from the workout I just got in.

Today my mom picked me up from Pete's and we went out for breakfast at Chez Coras which was fabulous!! After that we went dress shopping which was fun. Especially considering I finally found a dress for my cousins wedding! Its hot and I feel really sexy in it!! WHOOT :D

I came home and grabbed my exercise ball and did some working out in my room. O M G. haha I love working out on that ball and you can REALLY feel it after. It felt sooo good!! I got 20 minutes in on that :)

Anyways I'm headed to Pete's so I must go!

Toodles!

xoxox

Steph

Day 18, 19 & 20!

Hey all!

Sorry I've been lagging on posts but I'm super busy!

I've been strong on the workouts and have NOT missed a day!! whooottt!!! It really is becoming a habit now. I'm feeling great and my body is already feeling more toned. Especially in my legs.

:D!

Feels good.

Anyways I'm going to quickly go through the workouts I've done in the last few days.. just to share.

Day 18- Thursday

Thursdays are usually pretty busy for me as I work and then go straight to Jenn's house. I was able to get in a quick 15 minute powerwalk around the block. I was surprised that it didn't take me longer... but was happy I got that in.

Had a great evening with my bestie.. as usual! She is THE GREATEST!!!!

Day 19- Friday

Friday I decided to go a bit harder as I had a shorter workout the day before. I did almost 30 mins on the treadmill and then busted out the exercise ball for another 2o mins. At the end of that I felt soo tired but pumped at the same time. My stomach hurt later that night as I did 140 situps as part of my workout. I also did this move my cousin told me about. I took the ball and lifted it with my legs (while layin flat) and reached up to get it and put it near the ground above my head. Then reversed it. It burrned lifting my legs up. haha but felt good! I also did this butt exercise but its hard to explain.. haha. Felt great!

Day 20- Saturday

Today I had a fun day! went out with my mom and grandparents and then came home to work out. I got the 30 mins on the treadmill and then did 10 mins on the ball. I did 120 sit ups and 40 pushups.

:)

Its getting more fun as I go along!

Tonight Pete and I went to see the movie Wanderlust. It was hilarious! I definitely recommend it!! If you've seen it. Paul Rudd in the mirror scene.. LMAO. Too good.

Anyways.. have a good night!

Steph

Day 13 & 14

Hey all,

This will be a shorter post as I'm pretty busy today.. but I wanted to update you :)

I really can't believe I am almost 1/2 way through this challenge!! I can't believe it!

Anyways.. yesterday I got in a 40 minute workout and today was crazy busy as it was my cousins bridal shower but I got in a 10 minute quick workout with Brady :)!

It was hard sticking to my points today as the food was amazing!! But I did it :)!

Toodles!

Steph

Day 10!

Hey all.. Day 10!! ahh hehehe officially 1/3 of the way through.

Today was a good day. Went by fairly quickly and after work I visited my grandparents which is always nice. I left there a bit early and went for a Zumba class with my mom which was fun! Kinda hard but I had a different instructor this time. I felt like I pushed myself soo hard for the first half and in the 2nd half I was sooo tired. I started to get back into it with like 10-15 left but that's something I have to do differently next time!

Anyways.. gonna be a short post. :) Gonna go watch some TV.

Adios

Steph

Day 1- My third 30 day challenge!

Hi all!!

Guess what today is?

The beginning of my THIRD 30 day challenge! Yes, I am on number 3! :) So as I had mentioned before I would be doing a workout challenge.

Here it is!

My 3rd challenge

For the next 30 days I am going to exercise for a MINIMUM of 5 minutes a day. NO MATTER WHAT!!! I WILL find the time! Please remember 5 minutes is the absolute MINIMUM. Last time I did this challenge I don't think I did less than 10.

So.. today is day 1! I already got my work out in. I tried something new today and went to a Zumba class with my Mom. 1 Hour of non stop dancing. I was sooo sweaty at the end but felt soooooo good! I can't wait to go back hehehe :)

Anyways.. I will now be posting every day again as it will keep me very motivated!

Tomorrow I have band so I will be jumping on the treadmill after work and will get my workout in then!

Have a great night!

Steph

Happiness List

So I got this idea from a blog I follow.. to create a happiness list :)! As most of you know I am a very happy person so this list could be pretty long! Here goes...

The best thing that happened to me over the past year was finally getting together with Pete! Most of my friend know that I had liked him for a very, very long time so for me it was basically the best thing that could have ever happened! I've never been happier with anyone else in my ENTIRE life! Being with him feels so natural and right. He's like my best friend and my boyfriend all wrapped into one. He makes me soo happy!

My Parents :) - I've always had a good relationship with my parents (mainly in my adult years). I am especially close with my mom as we can talk about anything and everything :) It's great! She's one of my best friends.

Jenn- She is the one who makes me the happiest out of everything in this entire universe. She is the most incredible person I know and without her in my life I would be very unhappy. This September will be our 10 year friendiversary.. Yes .. we have a friendiversary. She understands me like no one else ever has and we can even have a full on conversation with just our eyes. We can sit on the couch for 3 hours straight and say 10 words and still have the greatest time ever. Without my best friend I would not be the person I am today. She is giving and she is smart and beautiful and is the most amazing person I've ever known. Thank you Jenn for being such an excellent friend and person :) The world is a better place because of you!

Ahhh, my Steelers. In General football makes me very happy. Every Sunday I sit on the couch like a lazy bum for hours and watch football. I love it. Watching my Steelers play is awesome.. I get so into it and scream at my TV with joy (and sometimes disappointment). Next year will be our year! We made it into the playoffs with 1/2 our team injured.. I am very impressed!

My beautiful dog Brady. whom I named after the best looking football player in the NFL. He makes me smile every day and when I'm sad and crying this guy snuggles up to me and it almost seems like he gets it. I love my boo!

Music in general makes me very happy. As you know I am part of a band and that is also a big part of my happiness. One thing I really love is Mashups. When you love two songs and they are mixed together it is rad!

Sunsets- They are just so gorgeous. This is my place in the winter :)

Yes I enjoy Jersday. To be honest I'm getting a bit sick of the show but every "Jersday" I get together with my bestie Jenn and we have dinner, watch our shows, do our nails, have girl chats and relax! My favourite day of the week!

When there is NOTHING else in the world that can make me smile.. THIS movie cheers me up.. It has worked so many times and I love it. I grew up watching this movie with my grandparents and now I know almost every word :)

"MAGGGGGGGNAAA!" I'll never forget the first time I had this drink lol. Saysha kept saying "MAGNA" in her awesome south african accent. Its hard for me to call it MagnERS now and when I get too drunk sometimes I call it Magna.. *SMH* This is a treat for me and it is so tasty!

Cofffffeeeeeee! No need to explain!!! I LOVE ME SOME COFFEEE!!

With that said.. There is my list for today! There are many things that make me happy but in reality.. I don't have all day to talk about them or enough room!

I must go.

Toodles!

Steph

Changes of 2011

I really can't believe it when I think of all the changes that occured for me in 2011. There are so many and I can honestly say that I am SO, SO proud of myself.

I have completely changed my life around and am EXACTLY where I want to be :)

Some of the things that changed in 2011

• I lost 40 lbs!!- Yes I finally hit my 40 lb mark and am sooo happy!! It's been quite the journey but I think losing 40 lbs in one year is remarkable :) I posted some pics below to show me last Christmas and then pictures from this Christmas.
  
  
• I rediscovered myself- This time last year I was lost. I was broken. I had just gotten out of a 4.5 year abusive relationship(in every single way.. mostly emotional) and I honestly thought I would never be happy again. I didn't think I'd be able to move on or be able to REALLY smile again. I got so used to putting up a front around people that they never thought I was hurting inside. I guess it was a way of protecting myself. In 2011 I started out the year keeping myself busy and making sure I was surrounded by people who loved me. I started losing weight and eventually found my confidence again. I realized that I am a good person and that I am loveable. I found my sense of humour.. didn't worry about what other people thought of me and started being myself again. I am a giving, kind hearted person and that person will NEVER, EVER go away.
  
  
• I got a promotion!- I started working at Primal in September 2009 part time. I instantly loved my job and knew that I wanted to stay there for awhile. I was only getting about 25 hours a week and needed more money to pay the bills so I was working another part time job. This didn't really bother me as I LOVE working :) In January I started full time and was able to quit my part time job! I couldn't be happier.. its like a have a work family :)
  
  
• Fell in love- This one is the most important one to me :) I had been into Pete for a very long time. Pretty much since we started hanging out during our lunch breaks (we met at Primal). I was instantly attracted to his sense of humour, his smile and his kind eyes :). We talked every single day at work over MSN. He'd send me songs and we had pretty much the same music taste.. I loved that! He quickly became one of my closest friends and I was terrified to tell him I liked him because A) we worked together.. could become awkward, B)Fear of rejection and C) I didn't want to lose the friendship if he didn't feel the same way. He quit in June of this year and we still talked every single day over FB chat :) I finally decided to tell him and it was the best thing I've ever done!! It took a few days for him to come around and admit it too but we hung out one night and watched True Blood and Breaking bad and have been inseparable ever since. I've never felt something like this and really hope this lasts forever!!! Jan 5th will be 5 months for us :). I finally found someone who I can be myself with in every single way.. and he makes me feel beautiful everyday.. even when I look like a bum and am wearing no makeup :) SOOO HAPPY <3<3<3
  
  
• Dumped shitty friends- I decided that if being a good friend was a priority for me.. I deserved the same! I had many people treat me like shit in 2010 and wasn't going to let that happen in 2011. When the red flags started showing.. I kicked them to the curb. No need for that!
  
  
• Became closer to my closest friends- One in particular. My best friend Jenn. She is my one and only and gets me better than anybody ever has. We can talk about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING and I think we could gross out most guys by our conversations. haha. She is the best person I've ever met and we've been best friends for 9 years now! She truly gets me and would do anything to fix any problem I have. I love her so much.
  I've also become a lot closer to some of my other friends including Amber who has been amazing. I've known her since I was in grade 10 and we're closer than we've ever been. She's one of my closest friends and I'd do anything for her! Another friend is Stef :) She is amazing and so beautiful inside and out. We have gone through a lot of the same struggles so it's nice having a buddy to go through it with. I know you'll be the first one to read this.. love you soooo much girl!!! Another friend I've become close to is Sam. We met when she was a co-op at Primal last year and she quickly became my go to coworker for everything.. she has been an amazing friend and always offered me the best advice and was always there to listen to me when I was down and needed to be lifted up. :) She is one of the most amazing people I have EVER met.
  
  
• Bought a brand new car! - Got my new car! My lovely madza3 that I love soooooo much!
  
  
• Stopped drinking pop- I love pop.. maybe a little bit too much. It was really hard to give up at first but I knew it was one thing I needed to kick to have a healthier lifestyle. In 2010 I drank 3-4 cans of pop a DAY and no water.. no joke. I was a Canada Dry addict!! mmm gingerale. This year I kicked the habit and now only drink water (and coffee.. a bit of an addict on that one though)
  
  
• Discovered my love of snowmobiling- One thing I quickly became addicted to in early 2011 was going snowmobiling with my dad. I usually hate winter but this year that has changed! It became one of my favourite past times and cannot wait for there to be a heavier snowfall so we can go out and hit the trails!
  
  
• I started volunteering at a homeless youth drop in centre- This one makes me feel great. In May I started Volunteering at a place called ROOF. This place has seriously changed my life. Seeing the progress in some of the youth and the bonds I have developed with soo many of them is amazing. This has made me question my path in life and I'm seriously considering going back to school to go into this field.
  
  
• Joined a band- Many of my friends and family know that I LOVE to sing.. I feel like I am quite good at it. After filling in for the singer of the Primal band "Bog Ferret" it became a permanant thing in 2011 :). We meet every tuesday night and jam out at the office :) Love it so much and my band mates are awesome!!!
  
  
• Changed my view on working out- I used to HATE .. HATE working out. It was pretty much a chore for me and I never did it. This year I discovered that I actually love to be active and it has really helped me in this weight loss. I haven't been able to work out for the last month as I have mono but in 2012 it is going to be a HUGE thing for me. Gonna incorporate activity into my daily routine.

Here are the pictures I talked about earlier in this post.

Christmas 2010

Pictures from Christmas 2011

I feel like I even look happier! hehe

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more posts in 2012!

xo

Stephie

I have mono :(

Sorry I didn't get back to ya sooner but I've pretty much been a zombie. I found out I had mono. :(

Really, really, really sucked! Saturday-Friday I did nothing but stay in bed and sleep.. ALLL DAY!!! I only left my bed to make tea, soup or to use the washroom. Other than that I stayed in bed constantly.

I never knew mono would suck so badly.. I had an insanely sore throat and it burned to even just drink water! I had these little white spots all down my throat/on my tonsils which allowed me to eat NOTHING. Not sure if those sucked more than the night sweats but I ended up just sleeping in a towel bathrobe. It was the only way I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night soaked (like 5 times a night). By the following Saturday I was able to start eating solid foods and was able to move around a little more.. wasn't feeling like I'd pass out just by walking down the hall.

Today I went back to work after a week. I must say I feel pretty loved and was definitely missed :) I only worked 10-2:30 as I knew I wouldn't last a full day.

Today is my amazing mothers birthday :) I love her sooo much! She is the greatest person in my life and I would not be the person I am today if she wasn't one of my best friends <3

I'm going to head off now.. later!

Steph

Missed 2 weeks.. but I'm back!

Sorry for being a crappy blogger :(. I've been very stressed out these last two weeks.

My parents went on vacation for a week to Jamaica and left me in charge which meant I spent every night at home, cleaned up the house (including cleaning up after my slob of a brother). I was basically a housewife for a week! haha I did get in a bit of exercise as I walked brady twice a day every day. so that was good!

We had the Primal Holiday party which was a blast!! Bog Ferret rocked the house! I love our band!! WE ROCK!! We performed 15 songs.. it was a lot of fun. The only thing that was not fun about it was the hangover the next day :|. I needed to have some "bravery juice" to be able to get onto the stage and then within the last hour a group of 7-8 of us did like 10-15 shots. Yes I repeat.. 10-15 shots within AN HOUR!!!! it was kind of ridiculous but awesome at the same time! The room was definitely spinny that night! I'm so lucky I have a supportive boyfriend who overlooks my drunken stupidity. At one point in the night I came and sat beside him with a drink and he put his hand on my leg and said "whats that?". I said "my leg" hes like.. "what... whats that?" I said "my leg" he goes "..............what are you drinking?" I go "ooooooooooooohhhhhhh ahahah .......a white freezie" Yep.. Im wack! That was at about 1/2 way through our set. :| I also spilled A LOT of popcorn in his car.. sorry Pete! :)

My parents came home on Wednesday and I could not have been happier!! I missed them soo much! ( I also missed sleeping in).

Wednesday was also my weigh in day and I was down a lb!! Whoot Whoot I was very happy.. I'm the lowest weight I've been in over 2 years!! :)

(I also kind of cheated and got on the scale today and was down 1 more lb.. kinda happy about that but I'm also sick.. which I will get into)

Thursday night I was able to spend time with my best friend Jenn. We ate dinner, went for a 30 min walk and then watched our show "Drop Dead Diva" for the rest of the night. Thats when I started to feel like arse. I was starting to feel the pain!

Friday came and went.. it was a hectic work day (as the last week had been.. ugh!!). I was happy when 5pm rolled around as I went and picked up Pete and then we went with my parents to our family friends house for dinner and gingerbread making. We had a great time and Pete and I made an amazing gingerbread house! It was crappy we left a bit early because I was sick.. but I really wanted to go to bed.

Next day I felt like I had been hit in the neck with a brick. It hurts so badly to swallow.. Had the chills for 2 days straight.. raging headache.. pain in my neck/back, swollen glands lymph nodes. ughh

Now I am getting the sweats andd I have white spots on my throat and the pain has completely moved over to my left side. It really, really sucks. It's also extremely painful and NOTHING helps. I've tried 4 kinds of lozenges, 2 sprays that numb the throat, advil and aleve.. its just insanely painful. The only thing that kinda helps is putting a cold pack on it and camomile tea :(

Bah.. I hate being sick!

Hopefully I can get in to see my doctor tomorrow. I went for a drop in appointment at my doctors office on Sunday and one of the doctors there took 5 mins with me. She swabbed my throat.. left.. came back with results (no strep) and told me to drink lots of fluids and left..

THANKS!!!! VERY helpful!

*SMH!!!*

Anyways I'm going to try and get some sleep.

Steph

Day 28 & 29

Hi all!!

Soo Wednesday was a crazy busy day.. My parents left for Jamaica and I am left at home with Brady.. soo I had to rush home.. take him for a walk.. load him up into the car and take him to my grandparents for our usual dinner date :). It was good and I loooove what they made. "Romanian Pizza" Its basically cornmeal covered in cheese and baked.. mmmmmmmmmmm soooooooooooo friggin good. Usually there is bacon in it.. not this time though. meh!

I also weighed in Wednesday morning and I'm down .5 lbs! That makes 5 lbs total since the beginning of this work out challenge!! It doesnt seem like a lot but Im nearing 40 lbs total so it seems to be coming off much slower lately :)

When I came home from my grandparents I jumped on the exercise ball and did 120 situps in 5 minutes. It is the bare minimum but I still got in two 10-15 minute walks with brady.. so I don't feel TOO bad :)

On Thursday I had a really shitty day.. I was majorly down in the dumps :(. I've been feeling really lonely.. and I guess when you only hang out with a dog it gets to you.

After work my boss, and coworker Georgina went shopping for our Adopt-a-family :). I got home and walked Brady for 15 minutes.. It's really hard to walk him in the dark with no street lights whatsoever.. I use the flashlight on my phone that does out every 45 seconds :|. I came back in and made dinner (french onion soup mmmm) .. and then jumped on the treadmill for 15 minutes.. Afterwards I got on the exercise ball and did 120 sit ups. Felt great.

I then got super lonely and depressed and cried myself to sleep.. being alone isn't my thing. I also had nightmares last night... One where I murdered someone! One where a gang was after me.. and then another where I was kidnapped! It was freaky :( Not a fan.

Today is my big day and I wanted to make a seperate post .. I will do that one later :)

The man is on his way over.. soooooo I should clean up a bit before he comes!

Toodles!

Stephie

Christmas is Coming!!

Hi all,

Yesterday Mom and I spent 4 hours decorating the house for Christmas :). It was rather fun... but I was pretty tired towards the end .. here are some pics!

The Tree

This used to be my favourite thing to play with when I was like 5 lol. Id swap out all the colours

I love sparkle!!!

Christmas Village I assembled

Stockings


My Stocking Holder.. hoping for a new pic as I was pretty drunk in this one :|

Christmas Ornament I got from my boss last year

Christmas Present I got from a former Coworker Justina <3

My Christmas friends

More decorations

Even more decorations (by the front door)

I love christmas!! Can you tell!!

Time to go tune back into the football game.. GO STEELERS!!!

Steph

Day 22, 23 & 24

Hi all.. hope you are all having a great weekend :)!

I know.. I know.. I am a bit behind but better late than never right?

So Thursday night I went to see Breaking Dawn part 1 with the girls.. it was pretty good but kinda funny at some of the serious parts. lol. I came home and watched the Thursday night NFL game while I worked out on the treadmill for 20 mins. 6 NFL mins= 20 real time minutes.. I should do that more often!! Well maybe not.. I got so excited that when I cheered and pumped my fists into the air I punched the ceiling. I also jumped with excitement and almost flew off the back.. I was also very distracted and almost walked off the side of the machine.. whoops! lol It's funny to think about now though.

Friday I came home from work and immediately jumped on the treadmill.. it felt great and I really pushed myself. I was gasping for breath towards the end :) I love that feeling!!! I hung out with my hunny last night and we watched the latest episode of Modern Family (our show) and then he got me started on HBO's The Wire. So far so.. meh? lol Its ok so far .. I'm hoping it picks up.. I'm more into major (girly) dramas and comedies.. we'll see.

This morning Pete and I went out to Cora's and I got the healthiest thing I could find on the menu (my fave) the Harvest Crunch.. sooooooooo good. I also get the granola on the side so I could control that too.. It was great!! :)

He's so amazing <3... I've honestly never been happier in my ENTIRE LIFE. I'm so happy we're together.. he was always one of my closest friends and its an incredible feeling to be 100% myself with him. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have him. :)

He dropped me off around 1ish and I took my pup for a walk.. it was soooo beautiful today!! It got up to 13C!! and its 8pm and its still 11C (Now its 11:20 and its 12C whhhaaaatttt!?!?). I can't believe it.. its almost December! lol.. Christmas is in less than a month! That means I have a very, very busy month ahead of me.. gah

Anyways I'm off to play MW3!

Toodles!!

Steph

Day 20 & 21

Hi all,

Sorry for the late post again! I'm a mad slacker!! :P

Tuesday I jumped on the treadmill for a 25 minute power walk and was dripping in sweat towards the end.. GAH!!! It was exhausting. I was going to go visit my man after but the freezing rain was a bit intense and I didn't even make it to the end of my road before having to turn back.. made me sad!

Wednesday me and my best friend went for a 30 minute walk with her dog Ace. It was rather cold but we made it through :).

Anyways.. This is going to be a short one as I'm about to head off to go meet my mom :). We're going to go see Breaking Dawn tonight with the girls!! YAY!!

Can't wait!!

Steph