Sunday 24 June 2012

Zumba

I have recently been taking Zumba classes, and thay are SO FUN!
I think everyone should try them!
It is a great way to get moving and sweat!
It is a cardio class that is more like dance.
The dance choreography gives the class a more fun feel so you don't feel like you are exercising!
It takes a few classes to catch on to all the dance moves, but there are women of ALL ages and body types there sweating it up and having fun, so no one needs to feel shy or silly!

Anyway, I wrote all that so that I could share this picture with you -
I founf this on the internet and I feel it really sums it up!



Weight Loss

Oh! There is a big part of my life that I have forgotten to mention up until now....
I have always been a chubby girl. Enjoying food and new fads for losing weight without excercise.
Recently, after gaining back all, and then some, of the weight I had lost from being sick the previous year, I decided to join a gym. I had finally had enough of being overweight and unhappy, craving food and being lazy.

Initially I still wanted to fond that miracle solution for losing weight with next to no effort, and I stumbled across laser therapy. The best way I can think to explain it is this: have you heard of laser therapy to help smokers quit? Same idea. Laser treatments to help curb cravings. The lasers also boost metabolism to kick start the experience. They suggest a certain eating plan and the use of a food journal. They decalre success if the patient is determined and motivated.

I was.
I spent the four hundred bucks ( this was obviously before our situation changed for the worse) and I drove the hour and fifteen minutes to the clinic once every two weeks for a month. The appointments took about forty-five minutes to an hour and were painless. The nurse did the laser on certain points, explaining to me exaclty what was happening - these are for stress, here is for metabolism, there is for digestion.

I was confident and hopeful that this was what I needed to keep me motivated!
I listened to the 'diet'plan. It seemed logical and easy:
Don't mix your food groups.
Begin your day with a glass of water to wake up your digestive system.
Eat fruit for breakfast and snacks. (up until 11am)
Eat protein and veggies, or carbs and veggies for lunch.
Protein and veggies, or carbs and veggies for dinner.
Limit dairy.
Cut out fast food and junk food.

Seems basic right?!
-Eat the right portions, which is about fist size for protein and carbs.
-Eat until you are full.
-Do not starve yourself.
-Always have food on you or in the house, and have options if possible, so you do not feel stuck on a strict diet. For example, pack carrot sticks for a snack, as well as a portion of almonds, and cucumber slices with humus. That way you can choose what you want to have, and enjoy it more!

The idea is that your body uses different acids to digest the different food groups, and so they should be eaten separately in order to let digestion happen naturally and quickly. For example: fruit takes twenty minutes to digest, whereas meat takes two to three hours. So, if you eat a steak and then half hour later eat fruit salad for dessert, that fruit salad will be sitting ontop of the steak, fermenting in your stomach.
So instead of making your body work overtime trying to digest them both, just eat one at a time.

Those are the basics...but don't quote me because i am writing this from memory!


Anyway, after my first appointment I joined a gym and committed to doing as many group classes as possible!

And I have been VERY successful so far, if I do say so myself :)
Go Me!

Since May 23, 2012, I have lost 17 inches and 7 lbs.
I began weighing a whopping 167 on my 5'2" frame, and have lost 3.5% of pure body fat.
And even though I have only lost 7 lbs, those 17 inches really show - my body looks SO different!
Once I have finished losing, perhaps I will post my before and after pcitures - but right now it is still too embarrassing!

I am doing Zumba classes twice a week, a high intesity interval class once a week, and a strengthening/cardio class once a week too.

I have also given up my diet pepsi addiction and have cut dairy out of my diet becasue it slows my metabolism down.

Sorry this post isn't very organized....but all the good info is in here and I will be sure to keep you up to date!

Still waiting, and working...

Well our situation is yet to better itself.
Not that we expect everything to sort itself out...we are well aware that it requires work.
Handsome has been job hunting all across the country, widening his search to camp work even.
So far no luck, but he is remaining positive (on the outside) and will keep going with the phone calls, emails, and long drives in the coming weeks.

In the mean time, his Dad has given us a break by hiring Handsome to do some yard work and help out with extra reno work for his Dad's compnay. While this isn't the best paying job, or the job with the most hours....his Dad will lend us some money that Handsome can work off.
This is really helpful, though hard to admit and accept, because it allows us to get ourself on our feet now and repay him later when we have the means.

His family takes care of us, and I am grateful for that!
That being said.....
Handsome feels as though the most likely situation to happen will be that he gets a job far away and will end up living in a camper during the week and coming home on the weekend. He wants me to live in his parent's basement during the week so that we can save money and repay our debts.

While I understand that this is the most logical solution - I am not comfortable with it!
His parents are amazing people and always try hard to make sure I am comfortable and included - however I am extremely introverted and private and I am not sure how well I will cope with having to share bathrooms and kitchens with his parents - the people I still feel the need to impress; the people I want to look perfect in front of.
I just worry and stress taht living with them 24/7 will expose my bad habits and secrets, as well as theirs. His mom is very chatty and I feel that she will expect me to eat dinner with them every night and chat with them, etc. And I know that I will be awkward. I am one of those weird people who becomes exhausted after any extent of social interaction, and I fear that in the attempt of not insulting her, I will push myself too far and become cranky and not myself.

Then there is the other thing - the part where every weekend Handsome would be coming home to stay with me at his parents house. Good bye private life! Sharing three meals a day, knowing that they know that we are sleeping together those ngihts....and I do mean sleeping, as there is no way in HELL I will be partaking in extra curricular activities in his mom's house!

It is just all around the most awkward situation I can think of, and I can't bear even thinking about it!


Am I being selfish here?
Complainy (it's a word.), and silly, and selfish?
Even if I am, these are my real feelings, and so should they not be considered?

Well, now that I have expressed myself and gotten that off my chest, all I can do now is wait to see what happens, and hope that he either finds a job closer to home, or one so far that we move together.

Thanks for listening, ladies.

Monday 18 June 2012

Great way to end the night!

So today as I was perusing the net to relax before bed, I came across a saying that basically sums up my relationship with Handsome (here ). It put a smile on my face :)  - great way to end the night! 

Life thinks it's just SO funny...

Life is such a joker....

I never know if I should laugh at life and go with the flow when it throws changes my way, or if I should be stressed and frustrated! Many people say go with the flow...laugh it off because that is what life is all about. I try to remember this always, and I am even able to apply it to my life when the changes are small, such as a noisy neighbour during the day. BUT it seems that life just does not want us to have money! Since I met Handsome almost two years ago we have been tight for money. People say that it is normal to struggle in the beginning, and I believe them! It’s just hard to not stress over when it is constantly looming over your head that you may not be able to make next month’s rent! When Handsome was laid off from his third job – side note: Handsome is a hard worker with a great work ethic, we just happen to live in “paradise” where everyone flocks to live and therefore there is a small job market with high competition – Handsome decided that instead of going from minimum wage job to minimum wage job, he would use his RSP’s and go back to school for a trade. These next ten months were pretty great – he had income from savings and I was still working full time.

We were on a life high! We upgraded from an illegal garage-suite and moved into a nice apartment paying about $200 more a month. We could finally decorate our home with our possessions, and be proud to have guests over!

And then life noticed us and added a few bumps in the road...
Extra school costs used up more of the savings than planned. And once finished his course, Handsome was placed in a practicum for one month with a ‘virtually’ guaranteed job at the end of it! (I know this sounds like a good bump in the road, but don’t be fooled!)
BUT as our luck would have it, the person that was to be training Handsome quite two days before he started his practicum...this means that the company still kept him unpaid for a month, but then ‘couldn’t’ hire him afterwards because they had no one to train him.

So alas, he is out job hunting again with no money left from his savings and an almost maxed out credit card. That means I am now responsible for paying our bills, etc. This is fine with me, I know Handsome will make it up to me when he lands a job...I’m just not sure how far I can make my paychecks stretch!

So there is the brief version of our current life! Although I am stressed and bummed out, I know it could be worse, and I know it will get better! This is why we are going ahead with the wedding. Some may think we are being silly and irresponsible but, the way I see is, this type of situation has been our life since the beginning. If we were to wit “until things get better” then we could be waiting for a long time! I don’t know about you ladies, but I have found my soul mate and I do not want to wait anymore! I would rather go through rough patches with my Husband! It secures our bond and shows the world that we are one team, and that they should take us seriously.
Well, that’s how I feel about the subject anyway!

Sunday 17 June 2012

Finally!

While many things are coming and going, and changing in my life, the most exciting piece of news is that in a few months I will be finally known as Mrs. Handsome! (Applause welcome!)

I have been waiting for this moment since, and let's be honest here, shortly after meeting my soulmate- my third day of living in a new town, and in a bar of all places. Yes, there is a story there, but all in due time dear readers.

This post is about my excitement in marrying my best friend! It is also the introduction of my step-by-step planning of my wedding. Unlike other brides-to-be, I am not planning my dream wedding- I won't even say that I am planning the best wedding. I am just planning a good wedding. One that does not break our incredibly small budget, and one where our friends and family fell welcome and are able to have a good time.

In order to accomplish this task I have spent many hours on the internet reading blogs and favouriting DIY projects. I have organized all my plans and info into my Wedding Binder and will post my progress!

My first step was setting our wedding goals:
1. A small wedding
2. An inexpensive wedding
3. A personal wedding - we want our wedding to reflect us, but we also want to have the opportunity to spend quality time with each of our guets

These have been the guidelines throughout my planning, and I look forward to sharing my ideas with you!

My First Post.

My First Post.

I feel like the First Post should be a witty, intelligent piece that contributes something to the world, or at least to the people who are reading it. However I have no false expectations that this will accomplish such a feat.
Readers be warned, if you are expecting enlightenment from this....stop reading now!

My blog, like my mind I imagine, will show no signs of organization or a sequential timeline. I merely expect to post random thoughts that cross my mind, silly stories - new and old, and conversations from my daily life with Handsome.