3 Goals update!

The last while has been filled with everyday things. My baby is doing well and gaining weight normally-thank goodness! I have been cooking more often-everything from sandwiches to pastas to salads to burgers-but I have not been very good at taking care of myself in other ways. So, today, I am going to get back on the health and fitness wagon. To stay on it, I need some clear guidelines for myself. So, here they are:

1. Take a multivitamin and iron pill regularly plus increase protein intake- I had a bit of a scare when I started losing hair like crazy recently. Of course, post pregnancy this is normal but I have lost a lot. So, I went and did a blood test. Generally my iron levels are okay and my thyroid is fine, thankfully. But, I went out and bought some multivitamins to keep everything in order. I also picked up some protein powder as I struggle with getting enough protein as a vegetarian. I am also going to take some iron supplements a few times a week as my iron levels could use some improvement.
2. Start tracking food intake and weight- I stopped tracking for a few weeks but am starting again today. Keeping an eye on weight as well as calories/carb/protein/fat levels helps me make better choices. I noticed I already gained a few pounds since my giving birth weight and I want to go the other way! The goal is go get to my wedding weight which is about 18lbs away.
3. Get more active- It has been hard with winter and baby to get out much so I want to make sure I do more getting out and about. I hope to see an increase in my daily steps on my phone plus want to make an effort to do some more physical things. These include home projects, gardening, etc.

So, focusing on the above should get my health and wellness goal back on track. My other goal was work and play. The play part will be taken care of when we move to Eastern Europe for some family and travel time. Now, the work part I have been thinking about quite a bit. I had an opportunity to do a consultancy for a reputable NGO but had to withdraw as my poor baby seemed so unwell then. It turns out that was for the best.

But, I have realized I want to focus on my dreams rather than just the normal stuff so decided I should use this time to do that instead of something more traditional in the work department. After all, I have enough experience to get a job in my industry but little time to follow my dreams while working. One of my dreams has been to start my own business. So, I am looking into that right now. Already I have approached my sister who I would like to be my partner. Next steps are in order and will be happening soon. I will share more at a later time but am very excited!

Things going on at home (December 2016)…

Christmas Tree 2016…

Our Christmas tree is up! Last year I put it up myself as no one else was interested but this year I had quite a few helpers which was nice. Most of my family will be home for the holidays this year which is also a nice change. I will have a lot of shopping to do in the next few weeks (not good for the budget but what can you do?). I also have to send out my own Christmas list or there will be a lot of candles, socks, and soap coming my way (ha ha ha) which I think should be banned unless you barely know the person you are giving a gift to!

Anyway, earlier this week we did a bit of shopping and there was a giant sale at a local jewelry store. My sister has really wanted some diamond earrings for the last year or two and the sale was extra good due to the store closing down so my husband and I paid for part of the earrings as her Christmas gift. One down. My work has a Secret Santa gift exchange is coming up this week with a limit of $10. It is very difficult to buy anything decent for $10 but I found two nice wine glasses that were on sale that may be nice for New Year’s Eve toasting so I picked those up. Another one down.

In the last while my husband and I have been having quite a bit of fun. We went to the movies and saw Arrival, went out for dinner a few times, watched a bunch of bad Christmas movies on Netflix, went out for dessert and coffee at a fancy cafe, did some shopping, and have been studying for his citizenship test. Part of the reason for all this fun is that he took a week off work and we had the time to have fun. Usually he works such long days that we do not do much once we get home from work. It has been a nice change of pace.

For New Year’s Eve, some of my siblings are headed off to Las Vegas and we considered going with them but decided not to as they wanted to stay way too long and as we have been there a few times now (including once on NYE). Instead, we may go to Victoria, BC, for a few romantic days in the super quaint city. My husband has never had the opportunity to go there and it is relatively near by so seemed like a good choice. I already booked reservations at a fantastic Italian place for NYE as well as massages for earlier in the day-little things to enhance the day. I learned from last year that you have to book everything early for NYE or you will end up with nothing going on. Still need to settle on a hotel. We can also enjoy the fireworks at the harbour…even though they will be going off at 9pm rather than midnight (I guess they want to fall in line with when the New Year officially hits Canada in the capital city which has a different time zone). No matter what, I am looking forward to this little getaway as I have not been to Victoria in years.

Other than that, arctic air has descended upon us and we had our first snowfall of the year the other day. It was beautiful but caused traffic havoc. Now it feels very cold out so I made a trip to the library today and stocked up on novels. I plan to do a lot of reading and tea drinking in the next while as I have taken off every Monday and Friday for the next two weeks plus I am off work from December 23rd to January 4th. Will be great to relax as I will have to hit the ground running at work in January…but no need to think about that yet!

The rest of 2016…

2016 is almost done. It has not been the best year and I am looking forward to it wrapping up and being over and done with. 17 is one of my favourite numbers so I have high hopes for 2017. But no need to worry about that quite yet since it is only November 20th. The rest of this year I only have 18 work days as I have several vacation days booked and our office will be closed over the winter holidays (which is great and necessary!).

I am expecting to coast through the rest of the year. At work I will have a few important things to take care of in November but after that it should be quite light. At home we plan to get the Christmas tree up towards the end of the month. This year, I am happy to say, all my family will be in town for the holidays (except the one sister and her family who live abroad but also who everyone dislikes right now due to some things she did in October). This will make the holidays much more pleasant. It also means I will have a lot of shopping to do in early December!

I had my blood test done and finally my iron is falling in the relatively normal range. It is still on the low end but at least it is not alarming anymore. Am hoping by the end of this year I will be at a medium level. I have also met with a nutritionist/dietitian twice and the information she provided was very interesting. I have applied some of her recommendations to my life and it has been great so far.

Am hoping the rest of the year wraps up pleasant and quiet so exciting things can happen next year.

October 11th 2016-A random day off…

I have been writing about the joy of having a random day off work for some time. Today is one of those days! I had booked this day off some time in August with no plans to do anything special. Here is how my day played out.

I woke up late and took care of a few errands about the house such as laundry and some basic tidying up. I finally got around to changing the light bulb in the boiler room and turned on our heating system for the first time since spring (starting to get a bit cold at night!). A friend sent me a text message asking if I was free for lunch. I was! It was also a gorgeous sunny autumn day and I enjoyed driving around and noticing all the autumn leaf colours.

I met my friend at a pasta place and I had a glass of pinot noir, salad, bread, and a pasta with tomato sauce. We lingered around for 3 hours chatting and had a cappuccino and split a slice of pumpkin spice cheesecake to wrap up our meal. She packed up all the leftovers for home (definitely no need for her to cook dinner tonight!). It was a great time to catch up as she is about to head out on a trip to Central America (which we will talk about next time I am sure) and the last few weeks we have both experienced family issues, have been working on a few similar goals, and are trying to decide our next life steps. Nothing like a good long chat with a friend!

After, I told her about one of my favourite local stores where we headed next. I bought a nice pink knitted sweater that will be perfect with the cooler weather coming and some socks for my husband (he keeps losing them which I find strange). My friend found great deals at this store and a few items left over from the summer which were cheap and perfect for her upcoming trip so she was very happy. I then said goodbye to her and headed back home where I picked up some ink for our printer (which is constantly running out-argh!) and some groceries for dinner tonight as well as some products my husband can take on his work-trips so he does not eat as much unhealthy food on the road.

I came home, checked my email (my friend let me know she is online shopping at the website of the store I took her to…I think I have created a monster!), and am now writing this post. I plan to soon put together dinner since my husband is due home, have a shower, and then do some reading before going to bed. I did not think of work all day and am definitely feeling refreshed and ready to go back tomorrow. It was a perfect random day off!

Where did the time go…

I have not written in a few weeks as I have been bombarded with all kinds of things. First of all, I have been going to the gym on a regular basis and it has been pretty wonderful. I leave feeling so so so great! Been drinking protein afterwards, been watching what I eat, and taking vitamins and iron pills on the regular and have been feeling amazing.

Work has been busy this month as expected but I managed to keep a nice balance and have taken advantage of being allowed a flexible schedule. I also took a random day off here and there or left early a few times. I also did a few shifts at my occasional flower shop job which was nice as it was busy! Chatting with the ladies that work there is always fun.

My cousin got married a few weekends ago which was a great chance to reconnect with family members and have a nice day out. I had a girls night at home (wine and cheesecake included!) with one of my close friends and last weekend we also took a mini-vacation which I will write about in another post.

My family troubles, which I wrote about last week, are still on going but feel more manageable now-thank goodness!

That is my update for now!

July so far…

There has been a lot going on! Work has been mayhem. I have been flooded with HR issues and have had to fire one person which is always unpleasant. Then I had to support a colleague with extensive issues within her team. She and I have also been struggling with a colleague that works on some of the same projects as us and cannot seem to do anything right! All that took lots of time and made me fall very behind with some of the work that I needed to complete. So, I may have to work from home this weekend. In addition, I covered someone’s vacation at the flower shop so did a handful of shifts there one week which meant leaving early from my real job. It was fun, though! I am hoping next week I can finally catch up with everything.

At home, my sister and her family arrived for a visit. We had a lot of unpleasantness last year (summer and December) which was making me dread her arrival. After a few weeks we managed to sit down and hash a few things out-prior to that I did my best to avoid her. The plan from now on is that we will slowly rebuild trust and see where things lead us. I was glad to have the opportunity to get through to her how much she had hurt me. Around the same time that we hashed things out, an enormous family scandal unfolded related to my brother and his girlfriend and their relationship. My sister seems to be at the centre of it as well to some extent so it has been very stressful as all are being sucked in-including me! I have had nasty messages from my brother and expect a full blown argument the next time I see him. Not looking forward to it but I know he is upset for me (wrongfully upset but upset never the less). Other than that, it has been nice to spend time with my sister’s kids. My niece just thinks I am the greatest which is very flattering!

My husband and I are working away on our debt reduction plan. I will share the details in another post but it has been a bit easy since we have both been too busy to spend much money! We did cash out our coin jar and apply those funds to debt repayment. It felt very good to see how much I had managed to raise in that jar these last few months with minimal effort-over $400!

I have been dutifully going to my rehab sessions which were necessary after my car accident. They are more or less wrapped up and now it is time to continue my learning at a gym. I will be shopping around for the right one soon. I think it is really important for my husband and I to take better care of ourselves. I took him to his first chiropractor and he loved it! A few more and I hope he will be much better.

The garden has been a bit slower this year as it has been cooler than last year but it has made watering very easy. I have been eating lots of zucchini! We have also had carrots, onions, and peas. My niece is loving to learn all about gardening and has begged her mom to put in a garden at their new house (they are moving soon). She loves to help me cut the lawn and monitor the progress of things. Super cute.

Anyway, that has been July so far. Am sure the remaining 9 days will be busy!

 

Catching a breath!

My work has taken over my life. The last few weeks have been a mad rush at work and I have had no time for much else-including this blog. Today, I booked a vacation day so I can slow down and catch a breath. I have a massage appointment booked for noon and am going for exercise at the swimming pool at 2 pm. All of this is in the interest of work life balance and stress management. I almost cancelled this day off as there is so much going on but decided the world will not end (at work) if I step away for a day. Since it is Friday, I will also have the rest of the weekend to refresh.

Despite all the madness, things have been quite exciting at work. I have summer interns on board which is nice as I can have them work on projects that my regular staff are too busy to do or are not part of their role. I also always try to make the experience a positive one with lots of fun involved. For example, I am having them coordinate a children’s summer art course which they will plan (with a professional artist), market, and support. They will also be responsible to create and contribute to a blog in which they share their experiences at our organization. It will be used to build the profile of our organization and to show my superiors at work that being innovative and modern is not a bad thing! They will also help with some of our annual summer events, create a database of profile building opportunities, organize one fundraiser, organize a community booth at a local mall, research volunteer management policies and procedures, lead a committee of volunteers to support their work, and match  donations with clients. Should be an interesting summer!

Other than that, I have been transitioning into my new role at work which was given to me in April (which I barely had time to start in on due to last year’s responsibilities needing to be dealt with). The new role has been quite exciting as it involves looking into starting a social enterprise (something I always wanted to do). This knowledge should help me out in any future position or business endeavor. In addition to that, I have several other programs or projects in my portfolio that have need looking after so it has been pretty busy.

At home, I have not heard back from my two international job applications. I am guessing they were able to fill the one I had a great chance at internally through one of their 8,000 employees! Very disappointing but not a surprise. The other job was a bit of a shot in the dark but I had to at least try. So, now I can refocus on my work and life locally.

I had two shifts at the flower shop so far this month (and one more for the end of the month) which were a lot of fun. I am now trained and trusted to do all the tasks on my own and have been asked to cover some days in July while the others are on vacation. I also collected my paycheques for the first time which felt like getting a bonus. I am seriously considering buying a franchise of this business at some point in the future.

The last few weeks I also forced myself to go shopping and was able to buy a few cute new shirts that I can wear to work. My wardrobe is just awful. I am constantly trying to improve it but hate shopping so it is a bit difficult. Other than that, in the last while my husband and I went to the movies, spent a day at the lake, went out for dinner last night, and both have been going to bed early each night. He joked we truly are getting older! Despite all the work craziness, I can say that I have been enjoying life lately. What more can you ask for?

7:30 am on Monday, May 16th…

It is Monday morning. I have no idea what I am up to today as I left my agenda at work last Thursday. A lot has been going on lately so I thought I would use this post to catch up on where my life is at. I will start with some recent good news:

• My husband had a ticket for $400 US. Last Friday I had to miss work to help him at court (a first for both of us!). We went into the court room early and were seen much earlier than our appointment time due to no shows and quick judgments. The judge immediately told us how much she could lower the ticket by law and did so. No questions asked. So, we only had to pay $269. Not bad! No need for me to have missed work but it was a gorgeous sunny day so it was okay with me.
• My husband also found a local parking spot for his work vehicle. This means he will park his own vehicle in the garage and save$400 on gas per month and $180 on insurance each month. He usually works 10 hours per day or is gone on overnight trips for work so does not really need his car much. At weekends we can share my vehicle or he can use one of the many vehicles that are available through family members.
• In April I mentioned we decided to use the snowball method to pay down debt and started with my husband’s credit card which was about $6,000. On Saturday we both made a payment and the debt is now eliminated! It feels great. We are going to work on my credit card.
• My garden seems to be doing well but will save this for a whole other post.
• I have lost a total of 4.4 lbs since I started my LOSE IT app. 2 lbs since I last posted about this. This is great as I want to improve myself and excess weight is always a bad thing for one’s general health. In other health news, I have been taking my iron pills and vitamins quite regularly, I started up with massage again, and had one rehab session with a trainer. She really pushed me and it was great as it is basically like a free personal trainer which is very valuable.
• On Saturday my husband had to do a test for his citizenship application. We are now waiting for the result and if he passed, we will be able to submit the forms this month. If not, then we may be delayed until he wants to do the test again-which may not be for a while. Fingers are crossed he passed so we can move things along.

That is all the bits and bobs of good news this past while! Today my husband will be driving out of town and will not be back until late tomorrow. I am going to use today and tomorrow to work hard and get as much done as I can at work. I had originally scheduled a vacation day for this Friday but may not take it and save it for a time when the husband is home.

Cinco de Mayo 2016…

I woke up yesterday and it was already Cinco de Mayo. Time has been going very fast this year! I did have a very easy week, however.

On Monday I left work early to enjoy the good weather and relax. It was nice. Tuesday I worked from home so I could attend a physio appointment (am finally back on track with that!). Wednesday I had a full day at work but left on time as I had to go to an update appointment with my back doctor (regarding my car accident and I have been given approval for more massages!). Thursday morning I had to see my regular doctor to get the results of my blood test (still have low hemoglobin due to the blood loss last month so have to take iron pills to get back on track) and then I went to work. Work was very productive overall this week (almost through with last year’s stuff and soon to move forward to new projects) and then I came home to celebrate Cinco de Mayo by enjoying a burrito and margarita dinner with the spouse! It was nice just to do something for the occasion as all day I was looking forward to the dinner! Having small things to look forward to really does make you happy!

Today, Friday, I have a day off from work so plan to do some work in the garden this morning and then this afternoon I am helping out for 4 hours at the flower shop. It is Mother’s Day weekend and one of the busiest flower weekends of the year! It is also a great little way for me to make extra cash, learn some new skills, learn about a small business, and have some fun. I will be helping out Saturday and Sunday as well for 4-5 hours per day and then probably not for a few months.

The siblings and I still have to come up with a plan for Mother’s Day this weekend. Our mom is not the easiest to take out to lunch as she prefers eating only at home but I am sure we can come up with something special. Other than that, although sadness still remains at times, our family is slowly moving forward from our dog’s death. We now have her ashes and are just holding on to them for now. I am remembering the good times and watching videos of her and realizing how truly different she was for the last month compared to the previous year. She really was in pain and the medication was helping but she was not true self. I still miss her and wish she was here but I know it was the right time. It still genuinely sucks, however. I do not think I need to say more as anyone who has been through this can understand.

Anyway, it is supposed to be a beautiful weekend and I ought to go and enjoy the sunshine before I head off to the flower shop! Gotta take advantage of any good weather as it can rain anytime of year in this area of the world

Happy St. Patrick’s Day 2016!

Famous Guinness Factory in Dublin

I forgot to wear green today! However, once I got to work I was given a green ring to wear to prevent the leprechauns from coming after me. A co-worker insisted I needed this protection as the leprechauns do not mess around and cause a lot of mayhem 🙂

I do not plan to drink any green beer (or wine) today but must say this is a fun little holiday in most North American towns and cities. Back in 2009 my friend and I went to Ireland for a trip in March and got to experience St. Patrick’s Day in Belfast. It turned out to be quite an eventful and fun night!

Super cool Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland is worth a visit.

In honour of this day, I thought I would take this chance to share some fun photos from that trip!

Otherwise, not much has been going on in the last while. I have been spending a lot of time at home with my dog. Work has been very busy but also very enjoyable with end of the fiscal year wrapping up and planning for the new fiscal year which usually means new programs and initiatives (which is one of my favourite things!). Plus, we are on a spending spree to use up any extra funds on supplies that may not be available to us next year. I am in charge of a lot of this and am pretty good at shopping when it is not for myself!

Famous Belfast murals. Locals say this one makes you feel like the gunman is always pointing at you no matter where you stand.

I have also been looking for some additional part time fun work on the side since my husband works so very many hours and I do 35 or less per week. So, I have been casually looking at the help wanted section of our local Craigslist this last while and applied for only one position that seemed like a good fit.

Since then, I have been interviewed for a very part time (like once every few months) job at a flower shop. I made it clear I have a regular job and not looking for many hours or a career and the owner said she was looking for just such a person to help with her small business. My first shift may be around Mother’s Day which is one of the busiest flower days of the year. How neat is that? My plan is to take all paycheques from this job and deposit in a special savings account. We will see.

Cliffs of Moher-just gorgeous!

Today we had great weather-sunshine at last! It has made me very excited about my garden. However, the bad news is that my seedlings have not been doing so well. Some of them have been flopping over. I am guessing this is weakness that is due to low soil temperature (which I fixed by putting the trays in the boiler room) and poor sunlight on all the days it rained (which I fixed by bringing them out of the boiler room but then I had problem one again!). This definitely teaches me that I will just have to wait for March next time rather than February in order to have healthy plants.

Cliff signs!

I am hoping this weekend, however, to prepare my two garden beds by turning over all the soil and compost that has been in them since last October and adding some fresh new top soil. My dog loves sitting in the garden beds when they are empty. I think the sun makes them very warm. When planting time comes, I will have to put up our temporary fence to keep her out. I also have to help my sister start her balcony garden but I am not sure if she is truly interested or if it was just a passing fancy. We will see.

Anyway, I have rambled on long enough to include several of my Ireland photos! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!